The Proton Wira and Toyota Hilux were the most targeted vehicle models by car thieves in Malaysia, according to the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM). In a report by NST, the association’s CEO Mark Lim Kian Wei revealed a total of 654 units of the Wira and 537 units of the Hilux were recorded for vehicle theft insurance claims in the last 12 months.

Further down the list, the Perodua Kancil was ranked third in terms of vehicle theft insurance claims with 378 units, followed by the Iswara (340 units), Perodua Myvi (290 units), Waja (231 units), Saga (214 units), Honda Civic (133 units), City (119 units) and Toyota Vios (117 units).

On a positive note, there was a 23% decline in motor theft counts at 15,323 units for all classes of vehicles, including private and commercial. Focusing on the former, a total of 5,625 private cars were recorded for vehicle theft insurance claims in 2017, a drop from 7,610 units the previous year.

“Meanwhile, 8,874 units of motorcycles claimed for vehicle theft insurance, a reduction from 11,009 units in 2016 and 824 units of commercial vehicles made the claims, compared to 1,386 units in previous year,” Lim added.

He also noted the establishment of Vehicle Theft Reduction Council of Malaysia (VTREC) has helped reduce the number of vehicle thefts. “VTREC not only involves insurance operators, it has also obtained the cooperation from the police, Transport Ministry, Road Transport Department (JPJ) and the support from Bank Negara Malaysia,” he explained.

As for other details, the Toyota Vellfire (112 units) and Mitsubishi Pajero (77 units) were named as “hot” models that were often reported stolen in 2017. This is according to the number of vehicle thefts on the basis of frequency, with both models at 0.26%. Other models that are often stolen include the Peugeot 308, Peugeot 508, Nissan Vanette, Lexus RX, BMW 7 Series, Proton Perdana and Ford Courier.

In 2017, total motor insurance claims paid out by the industry amounted to RM5.38 billion – a 7% increase from RM5.02 billion in the same period. On a daily basis, this works out to about RM14.7 million per day in claims for property damage, bodily injury and vehicle theft by all motor insurers.