The Toyota Land Cruiser secured its status as Japan’s most stolen car in 2023, maintaining its position at the top for the third consecutive year, as per the latest data released by the General Insurance Association of Japan (GIAJ).
The GIAJ’s list of the top 10 stolen cars was largely dominated by Toyota and Lexus models, reflecting a significant portion of the reported cases in the country. These top 10 models accounted for 55.7 percent of the total 2,597 reported cases between January 1st and December 31, 2023.
Unsurprisingly, nine out of the ten cars on the list were Japanese-made vehicles, with the exception being Mercedes-Benz. The Toyota Land Cruiser, including its Prado variant, took the lead with 383 reported thefts, followed closely by the Toyota Alphard minivan with 364 cases.
Among the other models in the top 10 list were the Toyota Prius, Lexus LX, Toyota Hiace, and Toyota Crown, with reported theft cases ranging from 307 to 53.
Also featured were the Toyota Vellfire Minivan, Lexus RX, Toyota Harrier (which is a rebadged Lexus RX), and Mercedes-Benz (specific model unspecified), with reported theft cases ranging from 43 to 37.
Reports indicated that most of the car thefts occurred during nighttime in poorly lit areas, typically between 10:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., accounting for 58.4% of the incidents.
Despite a slight decrease from the previous year, with 2,656 cars reported stolen in 2022, the prevalence of Japanese-made vehicles in the top 10 list remained consistent.
