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- In 2012 £1.5 Billion in criminal profit was generated by car
theft in the UK
- High value vehicles (over £25,000) provide the highest profit
for organised gangs
- 75% of vehicles stolen fitted with a Cobra tracking system are
taken with their keys
- Cobra reports that the average cost of stolen cars is nearly
£35k
Cobra UK is urging owners of high value cars in the UK to be
extra vigilant after 75% of cars fitted with its stolen vehicle
tracking system were stolen using the owner's keys.
In 2012 cars worth nearly £4.5m fitted with a Cobra stolen
vehicle tracking system were stolen and recovered, with three
quarters taken after thieves had stolen car keys from an owner's
house, office or from personal items such as handbags or coats.
New and used performance models worth an average £34,482 across
a range of marques have been targeted including luxury 4x4s,
powerful estates and high performance sports cars. As companies
like Cobra have developed more sophisticated key entry systems in
association with the major car makers, so thieves are resorting to
stealing keys.
This approach also means an undamaged car which is essential as
they are stolen to order before being exported to Africa, eastern
Europe and the Middle and Far East.
Cobra, the UK's leading safety, security and telematics provider
is seeing consumers suffer from car crime, but a growing number of
dealer demonstrator cars are also being targeted.
Cobra is urging car dealers to review their demonstrator vehicle
loan processes to help curb the rise of keys being stolen by
thieves posing as potential customers.
Despite this gloomy news, the average recovery time in 2012 for
vehicles fitted with Cobra tracking technology was a mere 57
minutes. So far in 2013 Cobra has managed to cut the average
vehicle recovery time down to just 22 minutes.
Andrew Smith, Managing Director of Cobra UK said: "We're proud
to have recovered many high value vehicles to their rightful owners
but we're keen to educate owners of high value vehicles that
thieves are actively targeting their keys to steal a car.
"High value cars are now being stolen to order by professional
gangs who can move these vehicles within 48 hours across borders
using falsified documentation. Some countries in E astern Europe
have processes in place to re-register stolen cars which is just
making the situation worse
"Fitting a Cobra tracking system is the difference between
keeping your pride and joy or losing it forever as only 41% of
unprotected cars are now recovered. Add in the fact your insurance
premiums could fall after fitting a tracking system."
CobraTrak products can be installed on new or used cars to
provide peace of mind and reduce insurance premiums.
Cobra UK offers two Thatcham accredited vehicle tracking
products, CobraTrak Plus and CobraTrak 5, and both are available
with a web tracking upgrade including the ability to set a geofence
zone around your vehicle and receive an alert should the vehicle
exit the zone.
CobraTrak uses the latest GPS/GPRS/GSM technology to locate a
vehicle to within ten metres. Cobra's network of 24 hour monitoring
centres across 39 European countries, Russia and South Africa
commence live tracking when a theft is reported and liaise with
police authorities in local language to recover the vehicle quickly
and minimise the likelihood of damage.
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