Car Theft Soared 20% in 2022, 10 Vehicles Especially Susceptible

The latest FBI data revealed that car theft surged by 20 percent in 2022, with the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat being crowned the most broken-into car of that year.

According to the FBI’s annual crime report published on Monday, the U.S. saw 721,852 car thefts in 2022, up from 601,453 in 2021 and 420,952 in 2020. As reported by the New York Post, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) released the stats on which cars were more likely to be broken into.

The HLDI studied 2020 to 2022 car models, concluding that the $81,040 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was the most stolen car of 2022, with 6,128 theft claims. The second most stolen car was the less expensive Dodge Charger HEMI, which was involved in 2,197 claims.

In third place was Infiniti’s Q50 midsize sedan, which was the focus of 878 theft claims, while yet another Dodge, the Challenger, came in fourth, with 766 theft claims.

Landing at number five was Land Rover’s Range Rover 4dr 4WD, which sells for $95,150. According to the HLDI, that model was involved in 611 claims in 2022.

Completing the top ten were the Kia Sportage 4dr and Sportage 4dr 4WD, Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport 4dr 4WD, BMW’s X6 4dr 4WD, and the Honda CR-V SUV.

The “Kia challenge” has been circulating on social media, leading to an uptick in thefts of that brand. The viral TikTok trend has been taken part in by teenagers, who record themselves starting the broken-into cars with USB cables. 

IT HAPPENED AGAIN: The infamous “Kia Boyz” trend on Tik Tok has made its way to College Park & Greenbelt, Maryland. Take a look at this Instagram user submitted video of a stolen Kia that struck the curb & the juvenile occupants fled: pic.twitter.com/dikGCHJF3D

— MoCo PG News (@MoCoPGNews) February 9, 2023

A 12 and 15-year-old were shot yesterday in Bladensburg, MD while in the process of stealing a car. Not everyone is willing to give up their cars to the Kia boyz… pic.twitter.com/qE1X3jIghn

— MoCo PG News (@MoCoPGNews) May 8, 2023

As Breitbart News previously reported, the thefts of Kia and Hyundai cars with these security vulnerabilities have prompted at least 17 states to urge recalls of the vehicles.

According to the New York Post, “Hyundai has reportedly tried to work with TikTok and other platforms to remove the videos, but new ones have surfaced nonetheless, and fresh waves of thefts have been occurring.”