{"id":264419,"date":"2026-02-02T21:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264419\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T21:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T21:08:10","slug":"mazda-models-top-list-of-most-stolen-cars-in-hawkes-bay-older-cars-the-most-common-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/264419\/","title":{"rendered":"Mazda models top list of most stolen cars in Hawke\u2019s Bay, older cars the most common target"},"content":{"rendered":"

Panton recommended second-hand car buyers look at \u201canything with a smart key\u201d and suggested cars stolen over the past year used classic key start engines, which can make a vehicle easier to steal.<\/p>\n

Despite Mazda topping the list, Panton still happily sells modern Mazda vehicles from his sale yard and says newer models cannot be easily stolen.<\/p>\n

The fourth most stolen vehicle in Hawke\u2019s Bay for 2025 was 2024\u2019s number one, the Nissan Tiida<\/a>, followed by the Toyota Aqua, Mitsubishi Lancer, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla, Mazda6 and Toyota Vitz in tenth.<\/p>\n

The top 10 most stolen cars nationally are the Toyota Aqua, followed by Toyota Corolla Nissan Tiida, Mazda Demio, Toyota Vitz, Toyota Hilux, Subaru Impreza, Mazda Atenza, Toyota Mark X and Mazda Axela in 10th.<\/p>\n

According to AMI, about 64% of stolen vehicles are recovered and only 40% are repairable \u2013 with the remainder typically written off and auctioned for parts.<\/p>\n

Despite the most stolen car nationally being a hybrid, hybrid cars accounted for only about 5% of total thefts in 2025, with petrol or diesel-powered vehicles making up the vast majority.<\/p>\n

Steph Ferris, AMI executive general manager of claims, said claims had been relatively lower over the past few years, after a peak in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cLower crime rates, improved security systems in newer vehicles, and New Zealanders adopting security practices \u2013 including being more mindful about where they park \u2013 likely play a part in this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ferris said AMI was seeing a clear trend when it comes to vehicle age and theft risk, with nearly nine in 10 stolen vehicles being older than 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOlder vehicles often lack modern, electronic encrypted locking systems, making them easier for thieves to compromise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ferris said there were a number of anti-theft measures to consider, like car 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

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke\u2019s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Panton recommended second-hand car buyers look at \u201canything with a smart key\u201d and suggested cars stolen over the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1561,6799,8344,1976,42,78,10005,61546,5289,3025,43,1118,24808,4736,8225,223,3010,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-264419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-bay","tag-cars","tag-common","tag-hawkes","tag-headlines","tag-in","tag-list","tag-mazda","tag-models","tag-most","tag-news","tag-of","tag-older","tag-stolen","tag-target","tag-the","tag-top","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264419","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=264419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}