Is Toyota Prius the Antidote to Car Theft?

12 years, 1 month ago - 22 November 2012, Insideline

Forget the Batmobile. The ultimate crime-fighting vehicle may be the Toyota Prius. The Toyota Prius has an "exceptionally low theft rate and a markedly high recovery rate," according to a report released Wednesday by the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

There have been just 2,439 reported Toyota Prius thefts in the U.S. between September 4, 2000 and June 30, 2012, the report noted.

"A comparison of theft rates by model years showed that the 2008-'10 Toyota Prius had a much lower theft rate (one in 606 vehicles reported stolen) than the average for all 2008-'10 models (one in 78 vehicles reported stolen," the report said.

California has the most Prius thefts, followed by Florida, New York, Washington and Texas.

The report did not offer an explanation of why the Prius is not on car thieves' hit list.

The 1994 Honda Accord topped the National Insurance Crime Bureau's most stolen vehicle list of 2011.