Holden 93 per cent theft increase prompts police warning
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Victoria Police is urging owners to get smart as tech savvy car thieves have caused a spike in the thefts of Holdens, Toyotas and Subarus.
Holden, Toyota and Subaru are the top brands being stolen by tech savvy car thieves according to Victoria Police, with car theft levels in Victoria reaching their highest in more than twenty years.
Victoria Police has issued a statement encouraging owners to be vigilant with where they leave their car keys after 'key reprogramming' has seen the spike in car thefts, the highest rate recorded in the state since 2003.
New technology used by car thieves has seen a rise in stolen Holdens of 92.9 per cent in the 12 months to January 2025, an additional 1377 thefts year-on-year.
Victoria Police says the focus is on VF model Holden Commodores – the last Australian-made versions and a favourite of car thieves nationwide – produced between 2013 and 2017.
Thieves are using third-party electronic devices capable of programming or duplicating the electronic signal of a car key if they are close enough to the genuine keys.
This enables thieves access to the vehicle, before they use the same devices to override a car's security system to drive it away.
Victoria Police believe one in five car thefts is now occurring this way, with more thefts happening to vehicles parked on the street as isolated thefts, not part of a burglary or other crime in the area.
Toyotas and Subarus are also being targeted, with thefts of Toyota up 76.4 per cent.
The Toyota HiLux (2016 to 2023), LandCruiser (2008 to 2021) are among the most stolen Toyotas, with the Camry (2014 – 2017), Prado (2012 – 2022), RAV4 (2019 – 2024), 86 (2012 – 2017) and C-HR (2017 – 2020) among the most stolen.
Subaru thefts are dominated by the high-performance WRX and its Impreza basis (2015 – 2018), but police report the popular Subaru Outback (2015-2018), smaller XV (2014-2018) and the less common Levorg wagon (2016-2017) – no longer on sale – are also being targeted.
Victoria Police is urging owners of all vehicles – beyond the three car brands at the top of the hit list – to take steps including buying a diagnostic port lock.
A diagnostic port lock stops a reprogramming device being connected to your vehicle.
Other steps include an RFID (radio frequency identification) blocker or a Faraday Cage for car keys, which blocks the signal – meaning car thieves are unable to replicate its signal.
Victoria Police also suggest remote battery disconnect switches – commonly known as 'kill switches' – as well as tracking devices, car alarms and even physical steering locks.
The warning also reiterated owners always lock their vehicles even when parked at home and remove items such as garage openers and other/spare car and house keys.
Without measures by owners, police anticipate the numbers of stolen cars will continue to rise, with 25,773 car thefts stolen in Victoria in the 12 months to September 2024, a jump of 6,408 over the previous twelve months.
Anyone with vehicle theft information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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