Proton Wira Is Malaysia's 'Most Stolen Vehicle' For The 11th Consecutive Year
A total of 131 Proton Wira cars were stolen in 2021.
By Jasmine Chea β 20 Jan 2023, 12:14 PM
The Proton Wira has once again been dubbed the 'most stolen vehicle' in Malaysia and has retained the title for the 11th year in a row
According to the Vehicle Theft Reduction Council of Malaysia (VTREC), their 2021 report recorded 131 stolen Proton Wira cars.
Coming in second on the list is the Proton Iswara with 75 recorded thefts.
The 'king of the road' β the Perodua Myvi β was sixth on the list and the top most stolen foreign manufactured car is the Toyota Hilux, which takes the fourth spot on the list.
Meanwhile, the most stolen motorcycle model in Malaysia in 2021 was the Yamaha 135LC, with one getting stolen every day.
According to the coordinator of VTRECH Mas Tina Abdul Hamid, the statistics were tabulated based on stolen car claims from insurance companies.
According to Mas Tina, the Proton Wira is car thieves' number one choice to pilfer due to the vehicle's popularity and its domestic demand for its spare parts
Most car thieves steal the Malaysian vehicle to sell its spare parts to domestic buyers as production has since ceased nearly 15 years ago.
"The Wira was a popular brand back then, and there are still quite a number on the road even though production stopped in 2009," Mas Tina told The Star.
Mas Tina also made the prediction that the Perodua Myvi will soon become car thieves' target.
"The Myvi is a target because of its looks and the fact that it is among the people's favourites. The trend is almost similar (to the Wira). We now have a huge number of Myvi cars on the road (and they might be the target once their production stops)," Mas Tina predicted.
The VTRECH coordinator said that efforts to curb car theft will continue but it won't be easy
Mas Tina claimed that car theft syndicates are tricky to corner as many employ different people to carry out the theft, making it difficult to track the thieves.
"Customers who agree to their offers will deposit money into the account belonging to the syndicate before the stolen vehicles or components are sent to them using registered parcel service," said Mas Tina.
She added that the spare parts are also taken to Thailand, where a different accomplice will sell them.
