EVs—notably Teslas—are stolen lower than internal-combustion vehicles, in keeping with the Insurance coverage Institute for Freeway Security’s (IIHS) Freeway Loss Information Institute (HLDI).
The HLDI revealed its annual record of most-stolen and least-stolen automobiles Thursday, based mostly on the frequency of insurance coverage claims for entire car theft for 2020-2022 fashions. The Tesla Mannequin 3 and Mannequin Y had the bottom frequency of claims, with the Mannequin X, Mannequin S, and Nissan Leaf additionally having a lot decrease frequencies of theft claims than the business common, relative to car inhabitants.
That makes for six EVs (the HLDI counts the single-motor and dual-motor Mannequin 3 individually) among the many 20 fashions with the fewest claims for entire car theft, though researchers have not developed a agency idea as to why automotive thieves appear to keep away from them.
2022 Tesla Mannequin 3
“Sometimes, electrical automobiles are stolen much less regularly than different fashions,” and HLDI press launch mentioned, providing that, “This can be as a result of they’re typically parked in a single day in well-lit and relatively safe areas for charging.”
Tesla’s Sentry Mode—and the potential for being caught trying to steal a automotive on digicam—may additionally have helped. The automaker has additionally labored to shortly eradicate any cybersecurity points it may need by working with “white hat” hackers, though knowledge on the speed of EV thefts completed through hacking versus extra typical strategies is nonexistent.
2021 Nissan Leaf
Hybrids, however, have change into theft targets for different causes. In 2021, the Toyota Prius turned a principal goal for catalytic converter thefts, spurred by a provide chain upheaval that led to a spike in costs for the valuable metals contained within the converters.
Probably decrease probabilities of theft do not seem to have helped EV homeowners with insurance coverage. EVs nonetheless value extra to insure than comparable gasoline vehicles or hybrids, possible partly as a result of collision-repair prices are usually larger for EVs.