What’s Driving Dealership Theft? Insights & Solutions

Dealership Theft Over Recent Years

Dealership theft has been on the rise over recent years as thieves develop new tactics and technology to make the theft of vehicles easier than ever before. 

Due to its lucrative nature for criminals, it’s nearly impossible to think that your dealership is not a potential target for thieves. In fact, the likelihood of it being a target has most likely increased over recent years. 

From the most recent statistics, over 1 million vehicles were stolen in 2023, a small increase from the previous year. 

The top three States most impacted by vehicle theft included California, Texas, and Florida, with Texas facing a 10% rise in vehicle theft which was the highest increase seen across the top 10 States reported with the highest figures. 

As the cost of living crisis continues to resonate throughout many States, as well as a large shift towards organized crime, dealerships should anticipate the threat of thefts to continue, if not worsen.

However, as the risks worsen so does the impact it has on dealerships and their business. 

What is the Impact of Dealership Theft on Businesses?

Vehicle theft from dealerships can significantly impact the finances of a business in several ways, both in the short and long-term:

Financial Loss

The theft of any vehicle from a dealership, whether it be a used car or RV will impact a business financially. 

Not only have they lost the original value of the product, but any profit earnt above that also. 

Locating vehicles following theft is more complex than you may think too. There is no guarantee that you will be able to recover it and place it back on sale, and doing this process comes as an additional cost to your business.

Operational Disruption

Auto dealerships rely on vehicles being present for customers to be driven to their site, however, if vehicles are stolen this can lead to you having to press pause on operations. 

This loss of time costs your business money, especially if you need to carry out any repairs on the dealership itself or any of the stolen vehicles you may have managed to recover. 

Increased Insurance Premiums

One claim can lead to your insurance premium rising, even if it was no fault of your own. 

However, repeated incidents could result in even larger increases and this quickly adds up for dealerships in the long-term. 

Insurance is there to protect you, but if your dealership looks to be at high risk of crime like vehicle theft then the process may not always work towards supporting you financially.

Reputational Damage

Dealership theft, whether it be of one or multiple vehicles can cause severe reputational damage, especially if it is shown that your business was left unsecured against these risks. 

It places doubt in the reliability of your business for customers, leaving them concerned if the vehicle will be provided to them and protected from the potential dangers presented.

For example, if a customer has purchased a vehicle from you and is collecting it at a future date, but is then stolen during this period, it could represent the dealership poorly as it portrays the image that there is a lack of security.

Loss of Customers

Reputational damage created from dealership theft can lead to customer loss with both pre-existing and potential customers.

Any instance of theft could portray the image that your dealership has a lack of security and prevent customers from using your dealership out of fear any purchased car could be stolen or cared for correctly by the business.

The initial financial damage caused from dealerships has larger knock-on effects which can impact the longevity of your business’ operations.

Discover How to Prevent Vehicle Theft Here

The 6 Key Factors Driving Dealership Theft (and How to Overcome Them)

Part of the prevention process against dealership theft is to understand the key factors that contribute to this continued drive seen with this crime. 

Having specialised in parking lot security solutions for over 20 years, we’ve gained insight and knowledge in the world of dealerships from our customers first-hand. 

Using this, we collected 6 key factors linked to the drive in dealership theft and how you can overcome them:

Technology Loopholes

Many newer cars have keyless entry and ignition which has made them a popular target for thieves who have found technology loopholes to steal vehicles with this type of entry. 

Popular brands including Hyundai and Kia are amongst some of the most stolen car types due to hackers being able to utilize a device called a relay to capture and relay the signal from a key fob to help unlock the car for them to then steal.

Therefore, with dealerships where you’re selling newer cars where keyless entry is present, you run the risk of increased thefts due to the ease of entry which can be acquired by thieves. Especially, when tactics and methods are being shared online via social media.

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Organized Crime

In the US, the auto dealership market size was valued at $257.30 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $352.1 billion in 2031. 

This market is extremely enticing for thieves due to its high demand, however, with this type of demand comes heavy recognition from thieves and organized crime groups across many States. 

Any industry where lucrative profit can be found is appealing for organized crime groups, but, with dealerships in particular where there is open access to product, they often appear as easier targets. 

Most organized crime will be targeted and thought out carefully as those involved will often have knowledge in theft prior to this. 

An increase in this crime type has and will likely contribute further to the rise in dealership theft, and without the correct tools can destroy your business.

In-Demand Car Components

It is well-known that a big driver in dealership theft, and vehicle theft in general is for their costly car components, specifically catalytic converters. 

Built with expensive metals, swiping car components can leave vehicles non-functional, but make for a simple win for thieves. 

As metal prices continue to rise, specifically copper, car components are becoming more and more valuable by the day. 

For dealerships, this may initially seem minor but regular instances of car component theft can become costly for many reasons:

• Repair and replacement costs for the new component
• Labour costs to repair or replace the car component
• Loss of revenue awaiting repairs at your dealership

Increased Value of Used Cars

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, a global shortage of semiconductors caused an increase in the value of used cars. 

This increase hasn’t gone unnoticed by thieves and although the market is volatile, criminals will take any opportunity to take advantage of a boost in the market, leaving your dealership at risk. 

Open Access Layout

Unlike other industries, dealerships have no choice but to have their goods in plain sight for all members of the public to see, even if this is unwanted attention from thieves. 

This type of open access layout is a large driving force in dealership theft because it allows for thieves to plan, assess, and be aware of the potential challenges they could be faced with at your dealership.

All of this helps to keep criminals’ identities concealed and provides them with a sense of security which may not be felt in a shopping mall or grocery store. 

Lack of Security

Many dealerships leave themselves completely exposed to theft due to a lack of security and this has helped to drive dealership theft further as thieves continue to take advantage of this. 

You may not think you’ll fall victim to such crime, but to thieves every dealership is a target, including yours. 

If intruders see no security or out-of-date equipment, this essentially provides them with a green light to access your property grounds and scope out the vehicles before stealing them.

LotGuard: Cost-Effective Parking Lot Solutions For Protecting Against Dealership Theft

With many driving forces behind dealership thefts and likely more to develop in future, don’t wait to become another statistic to such crime. 

Protect your vehicles, finances, and customers with LotGuard’s parking lot solutions. 

Specifically designed to tackle dealership theft and other crimes related to them, our Surveillance Trailers stand at 20 ft tall, creating a strong security presence that helps to deter intruders and inform them that monitoring is in place. 

Dealership theft relies on opportunity and sense of cover. The LotGuard PRO Surveillance Trailer uses IR PTZ cameras that will be able to cover your full dealership and its perimeter, providing you with full protection.

Concerned about when you’re away or not present on-site? All of our parking lot solutions offer a mobile app that allows you to access live footage and gain peace of mind wherever you are and on any device. 

And for further reassurance, our cameras are backed by remote monitoring services that are ready to take the reins where real threats present themselves at your dealership with a prompt, appropriate response. 

Having supported the likes of auto dealerships including Lithia Motors, LotGuard provides a flexible, adaptable solution to protect against vehicle theft without the need for power or internet from you.

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