BMW X5 is most stolen and recovered car, says Tracker

The BMW X5 topped Tracker's most stolen and recovered vehicle table for 2014 - the sixth year in a row in has held this position.

BMW models have dominated the top 10 for the past three years, but 2014 saw an increase in the range of Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar Land Rover marques being stolen and recovered.

The BMW M3 moved down from second place to sixth, in 2014, whilst the Mercedes C-Class moved up a place to take the number two slot.

The Range Rover Sport jumped four places, up to third position and the Land Rover Discovery makes a new entry at fifth, suggesting that 4x4s were in big demand for organised crime gangs 2014.

“The 2014 figures illustrate that prestige models continue to catch the eye of thieves, but the average value of stolen cars we recovered was just £25,600, suggesting that older models of prestige cars could be just as attractive to criminals as newer models, ” said Andy Barrs, head of police liaison at Tracker.

“Interestingly, the number of vehicles that are being stolen without keys has steadily risen over the last few years, accounting for 43% in 2014.

"We believe this is down to the growth in car hacking where criminals target keyless vehicles by bypassing their security systems, using technology they’ve bought on the internet.

“Indeed, experts, such as Thatcham Research have warned that as keyless security systems become commonplace in cars, the skills to bypass these will be widely practiced by most criminals and in turn, lower value keyless vehicles will be equally at risk.

"We recommend that car owners invest in an added layer of security by using tracking devices that harness the latest technology.”