Car thieves are clearly not interested in the most economical cars on the road. And Auckland is not the riskiest place to own a car – that dubious honour falls to Canterbury, according to financial comparison website MoneyHub.

MoneyWeb analysed police data over the last six months of 2018, with the surprising result that top spot went to Canterbury, with 831 vehicles reported stolen, compared with 575 in south Auckland’s Counties Manukau and 391 in Auckland City.

And it’s the Toyota Hilux (162) which proves most popular with thieves, with the Subaru Legacy (117) and Subaru Impreza (93) an unenviable second and third respectively.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re safe if you don’t own one of those – there are regional variations which show, for instance, the Ford Falcon as the main preference in Waikato.

MoneyHub’s senior research Christopher Walsh says the regional analysis is interesting in its diversity.

“Thieves had different preferences around the region. Auckland thieves lusted after the Mazda Familia more than any other car. But in Waikato, the Ford Falcon was the most stolen car, and in Southland and Otago thieves preferred the Honda Civic.

“In Wellington, Mitsubishi Lancer was most favoured, while the Toyota Hilux was popular with thieves all over the country, especially those in Canterbury, Bay of Plenty and Northland.

“If you own a Toyota Hilux, Subaru Impreza or Subaru Legacy, you could pay a lot more for car insurance than for less ‘in demand’ models by thieves. But many models continue to be in demand by thieves.”

In terms of stolen cars as a ratio of a region’s population, Otago and Southland reported the lowest number, while Canterbury, Northland and Counties/Manakau posed the most risk to car owners.

MoneyHub says it will continue to analyse police data every six months.

New Zealand’s most stolen cars: June – December 2018

Most stolen by region:

Stolen cars per region as a ratio of population

Caption:

Toyota Hilux is the most popular vehicle in NZ for thieves.