Car keys: don't leave home without them

The federal government mandated engine immobilisers for new cars 15 years ago, and at the time it was hailed as a commonsense move that would reduce car theft markedly, over time.

But a new infographic from comparethemarket.com.au reveals that motor vehicle theft remains above 50,000 units a year. The overall trend for theft has been on the decline, but the influence of universal immobiliser fitment hasn't been the panacea everyone expected back in 2001.

And why is that? Could it be that car thieves are now taking the easy way out? Breaking into homes to steal car keys left on benches or hooks – or elsewhere in plain sight. Then it's simply a matter of using a valid key to unlock the car, disable the immobiliser and start the engine. No special tools or hacking software required...

Apparently, according to the infographic, 52 per cent of car theft incidence takes place at the principal place of residence. Car-Safe, the organisation that provided the data for the infographic, says that many of those cases of car theft from the family home are preceded by a burglary. The thief breaks into the house, flogs the keys to the family car and disappears – possibly returning later to steal the car as well, if it's not at home at the time of the initial break-in.

The data also reveals that the street is only about half as risky as the driveway or garage at home. Instances of theft from the street account for around 27 per cent of the total. Business premises figure in 11 per cent of cases, and car parks, other outdoor spots and 'unknown' make up the balance.

Other points of interest from the graphic include the statistic that 69 per cent of vehicles are stolen for 'short-term' use. The remaining 31 per cent are stolen for profit.

The median age of vehicles stolen is 11 years, which more or less aligns with the median age for the national parc. Cars aged between five and nine years are the most popular age bracket for theft, at 22 per cent. Cars older than 20 years represent a much smaller percentage of total theft statistics, probably due to natural attrition reducing the numbers of vehicles that age remaining registered for the road.

Victoria is the state where vehicle theft is most common – at 28 per cent of all thefts. New South Wales is not far behind, on 26 per cent. But Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Logan – all in Queensland – take out the top three spots for vehicle theft by municipality.

Toyota's HiLux from 2005 to 2011 was the most popular target for theft last year. It was followed by Holden's VE Commodore, Nissan's N15 Pulsar, the VT Commodore and the VX Commodore, in that order. The majority of stolen vehicles – 69 per cent – were recovered, and 87 per cent of those were recovered within 30 days.