This report provides an analysis of the insurance situation, theft trends and legislation changes relating to vehicle security Canada and the USA; collectively referred to as ‘North America’ in this report.  Theft statistics show that car theft in North America has been reducing over recent years although it is still relatively high compared to other Western countries. The reduction is mainly due to the increased level of immobiliser fitment to new cars since the late 1990’s and the vehicles now at highest risk of theft are older models without immobilisers. There are no standards for the performance of immobiliser systems in the USA and despite legislative requirements in Canada there is no defined test method to evaluate system effectiveness.

Changes to the legislation in Canada & USA allowing deletion of the steering lock where an electronic immobiliser is fitted will give vehicle manufacturers opportunities to reduce cost, however, this is likely to have a negative impact on security performance.

2134 - North America Security information bulletin.pdf (912.25 kb)