Auto theft down, but less vehicles recovered: Équité

Although vehicle theft is continuing to decrease nationally, a concerning trend is emerging regarding the recovery of stolen vehicles, finds the latest auto theft analysis from insurance fraud organization Équité Association.

Vehicle theft incidents decreased nationwide by 23.3% in 2025 Q1 compared to the same period last year, according to Équité’s first Q1 Auto Theft Analysis, released Wednesday. However, only 58.3% of stolen vehicles were recovered in that period, compared to 63.1% in 2024 Q1, Équité says in a press release.

This signals a “shift in the motivations behind auto theft, likely influenced by economic headwinds and the ongoing impact of automotive tariffs,” Équité suggests.

Bryan Gast, national vice president of investigative services at Équité, says the sizable 23.3% decrease in vehicle theft can be attributed to the “collective efforts and meaningful actions taken by key stakeholders over the past year aligned with the National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft.”

Stats from Équité show there were 15,096 total vehicle thefts in 2024 Q1, down 23.3% to 11,582 in 2025 Q1. Ontario saw the largest year-over-year decrease of 29.6% — from 6,902 vehicles to 4,860 in the latest quarter. Quebec saw a 22.7% decrease (2,609 vehicles to 2,016 vehicles). Atlantic Canada saw a 17.7% decrease from 498 vehicles in 024 Q1 to 410 in 2025 Q1, while Western Canada witnessed a 15.5% decrease to 4,296 vehicles in 2025 Q1 from 5,087 in 2024 Q1.

Regarding the concerning rate of unrecovered stolen vehicles, this is “likely to continue as economic uncertainty and automotive tariffs make vehicles and parts more expensive,” Gast says. “Additionally, we know the criminal organizations behind these vehicle crimes are doing this to fund illicit activities in Canada.”

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“As tariffs against the Canadian automotive industry continue to make vehicle parts more expensive in Canada and abroad, there will likely be a shift towards criminals stealing vehicles destined for ‘chop shops’ or being re-VINed, which is a contributing factor to why 40% of stolen vehicles have not been recovered in Q1 of this year,” Équité says. “This follows a similar trend to the supply and demand issues of vehicles during COVID, which drove more organized crime groups into committing vehicle crimes.”

Chop shops are illicit establishments that specialize in dismantling stolen vehicles, stripping them down to their essential components, and selling off the parts for profit, Équité explains. These chop shops may also attempt to fix wrecked vehicles with stolen parts. “In this way, chop shops pose a significant threat to car buyers, as the used vehicles they purchase from unregistered dealers could contain stolen parts, compromising their safety and legality.”

Re-VIN fraud is the purposeful changing of a vehicle identification number for fraudulent financial gains.

“Équité investigators have seen instances where criminals will insure a re-VINed vehicle and falsely claim it as stolen against their insurance policy. The proceeds are then used to finance illegal activities, including drug trafficking, which poses an ongoing safety threat to all Canadians.”

Jason Contant

Jason has been an award-winning journalist with Canadian Underwriter for more than a decade, including the past three years as associate editor and, before that, as digital editor for seven years.