The aftermath of the Japanese Tsunami disaster in March this year has been widespread.  In addition to the loss of life and livelihood, the disruption to infrastructure and industry is still ongoing.  The recovery of automotive manufacturing across Japan in particular has also been very slow.

This reduction in output, and the recent financial currency movements, has meant that the supply of new Japanese brand vehicles into export markets has decreased and the vehicles themselves have become more expensive.  The combined effects of a reduction in new vehicles and the loss of many used vehicles within Japan is that the trade in used Japanese vehicles has been severely reduced, both as an export from Japan and also within the markets where they are usually sold.

Demand for these vehicles has not reduced however, and in certain countries, car thieves have started to increase their activities to fulfil this market need. Thefts of Japanese vehicles, in particular Toyota and Lexus, in Russia have been blamed on efforts to fulfil this demand.  With fewer cars being imported from Japan, thieves have been quick to respond to the opportunity.

According to the Rossiyskaya Gazeta, the top 5 stolen models in Russia in the first half of this year were Honda CRV, Mitsubishi Outlander, Mitsubishi Lancer, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry.  Their data was supplied by a stolen vehicle tracking company, so it only represents cars which had security systems fitted to them. However the bias towards Japanese brands as opposed to premium luxury models and brands in general is still significant.

SBD are investigating whether similar trends could occur in other markets where sales of Japanese vehicles, particularly used vehicles, are significant.  Countries such as Australia and New Zealand and many in the ASEAN group import large numbers of used vehicles from Japan, usually those that have reached 5 years old (when the strict requirements of the Japanese Shaken test start to become uneconomical to meet).  In New Zealand, there are more sales of used imports per year than there are sales of new cars.

To understand more about theft trends, and how many countries which have enjoyed reductions on car theft over recent years are now seeing increases, refer to SBD’s report SBD/SEC/2255 Global Theft Statistics or contact security@sbd.co.uk for more insights and information.