{"id":264041,"date":"2026-02-02T15:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264041\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T15:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T15:42:13","slug":"new-zealands-most-stolen-cars-for-2025-revealed-five-toyotas-in-the-top-nine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264041\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand’s most stolen cars for 2025 revealed: five Toyotas in the top nine"},"content":{"rendered":"

List incudes 760 different models.
\nFive Toyotas in the top nine.
\nTop regions for theft in NZ also revealed.<\/p>\n

The good news is that data from AMI Insurance shows car theft has declined compared to\u00a0the country’s peak in 2023<\/a>. If you own a Toyota Aqua<\/a>, the bad news is that it remains NZ’s most stolen car, a title it has now claimed for four consecutive years.<\/p>\n

\"Toyota
\nCorolla is AMI’s ‘most insured’, but not the most stolen.<\/p>\n

AMI, part of IAG, has the largest general insurance dataset in the country. Its 2025 list accounts for more 9000 claims (it hit 17,000 back in 2023), spanning 760 different makes and models. The Aqua (aka Prius C) made up 8% of all stolen vehicle claims, followed by the Toyota Corolla<\/a> (7%) and Nissan Tiida (6%).<\/p>\n

The gap between Aqua and Corolla is bigger than the percentage figures suggest. For every 1000 Aquas insured, AMI had 54 theft claims, compared to 15 per 1000 for the Corolla. Corolla remains AMI’s “most insured” vehicle.<\/p>\n


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Theft rates for the Toyota band in general reflect its popularity in NZ. Five different Toyota models rank within the top nine; the Toyota Vitz (aka Yaris) is a hot mover, moving up two places for 2025.<\/p>\n

\"AMI
\nAMI executive general manager Steph Ferris.<\/p>\n

According to AMI executive general manager Steph Ferris, there’s a continuing tends towards the theft of older vehicle, with nearly 90% of claims being for cars at least 10 years old.<\/p>\n

“Older vehicles often lack modern, electronic encrypted locking systems, making them easier for thieves to compromise,\u201d says Ferris.<\/p>\n

\"Toyota
\nToyota Vitz is moving up the league table, but not in a good way.<\/p>\n

For owners of such vehicles, Ferris suggests simple anti-theft measures such as alarm systems, immobilisers, fuel cut out switches, steering wheel locks, handbrake locks, as well as parking behind a locked gate if a garage isn\u2019t available.<\/p>\n

The top regions for vehicle theft are: Auckland, Canterbury, Waikato, Wellington, and the Bay of Plenty.<\/p>\n


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Around 64% of stolen vehicles are recovered, and 40% of these are repairable. The remainder are typically written off and auctioned for parts.<\/p>\n

The AMI top 10 stolen cars list for 2025<\/p>\n

Toyota Aqua (=)
\nToyota Corolla (=)
\nNissan Tiida (=)
\nMazda Demio (=)
\nToyota Vitz (+2)
\nToyota Hilux (=)
\nSubaru Impreza (+1)
\nMazda Atenza (-3)
\nToyota Mark X (=)
\nMazda Axela (=)<\/p>\n

Most stolen vehicles in each NZ region for 2025 (by claims volume)<\/p>\n

Auckland – Toyota Aqua
\nCanterbury – Toyota Aqua
\nWaikato – Toyota Corolla
\nWellington – Toyota Corolla
\nBay of Plenty – Toyota Corolla
\nManawat\u016b – Nissan Tiida
\nNorthland – Toyota Corolla
\nHawke\u2019s Bay – Mazda Atenza
\nGisborne – Mazda Demio
\nTaranaki – Toyota Corolla and Nissan Tiida
\nOtago – Toyota Aqua
\nSouthland – Suzuki Swift
\nNelson – Nissan Tiida
\nTasman – Mazda Demio and Toyota Corolla
\nWest Coast – Toyota Hilux
\nMarlborough – Honda Jazz<\/p>\n

AMI\u2019s top tips for vehicle security<\/p>\n

Where possible, park down a driveway or inside a garage. If that’s not available, park in a well-lit area.
\nConsider a car alarm system, immobiliser, fuel cut out switch, steering wheel lock, handbrake lock, or car tracking system.
\nCost-effective GPS tags can be placed inside vehicles to help police to track the vehicle.
\nAlways lock your car, especially when it’s parked and unattended.
\nDon\u2019t leave valuables on display.
\nAvoid leaving windows or the sunroof open when you’re not in the car.
\nDon\u2019t get out of your car and leave the engine running or keys in it, even for a few seconds.
\nAlways lock car doors when driving and consider keeping the windows up, especially in low-speed areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"List incudes 760 different models. Five Toyotas in the top nine. Top regions for theft in NZ also…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[121856,11357,39682,78393,111,43,139,77360,69,121858,1733,150948],"class_list":["post-264041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-aqua","tag-budget","tag-corolla","tag-hatchback","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nissan","tag-nz","tag-tiida","tag-toyota","tag-vitz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}