Tracker, one of the first vehicle tracking companies established in South Africa has released its vehicle crime statistics since the company’s inception back in 1995. The report reveals that the Western Cape leads when it comes to vehicle hijacking, while the North West takes the cup for vehicle theft.
The Tracker statistics indicate that the level of vehicle crime was significant in the early years of vehicle tracking, with vehicle crime activities affecting 4.5% of Tracker’s customer base at the peak in 1999. However, this rate declined as vehicle tracking matured and the insurance industry drove an increase in subscriptions to vehicle tracking services.
The level of vehicle crime has been consistent since 2012 at 0.7% of Tracker’s customer base, dropping to 0.6% for the past three years.
In the same breath, the nature of vehicle crime is changing. For the past three years, hijacking has been on the rise and is now more prevalent than theft.
Hijacking attributed a higher percentage of the Tracker vehicle crime activities in 2021 when compared to theft, averaging a 54/46% split. This is higher than the last time hijacking overtook theft, during 1999 with a 52/48% split.
What is most interesting is that the province that has always been at the forefront of vehicle crime is Gauteng, clocking an average 64% of the total vehicle crime activities in 25 years. Yet, for the past three years, Gauteng has attributed a smaller percentage of the national vehicle crime activities at an average of 56%.
When examining the split between theft and hijacking at provincial level for the past year, six provinces experience a greater amount of hijacking than theft.
| Province | Theft | Hijacking |
| Eastern Cape | 40% | 60% |
| Free State | 53% | 47% |
| Gauteng | 49% | 51% |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 49% | 51% |
| Limpopo | 38% | 62% |
| Mpumalanga | 30% | 70% |
| North West | 62% | 38% |
| Northern Cape | 57% | 43% |
| Western Cape | 22% | 78% |
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