Mercedes-Benz models among most stolen luxury vehicles

Three Mercedes-Benz models are among the top 10 stolen luxury vehicles in the United States, a new report from the National Insurance Crime Bureau suggests.

Between January 2009 and December 2012, there were 4,384 luxury class vehicles stolen, according to the organization.

The Mercedes-Benz C Class, E Class and S Class were all among the top 10 included in the report. The full top 10 include:

• Mercedes-Benz C Class – 485 thefts
• BMW 3 Series – 471 thefts
• Infiniti G Series – 405 thefts
• Mercedes Benz E Class – 381 thefts
• Cadillac CTS – 326 thefts
• BMW 5 Series – 256 thefts
• Lincoln MKZ – 226 thefts
• Acura TSX – 190 thefts
• Lexus IS – 177 thefts
• Mercedes-Benz S Class – 163 thefts

Nearly half (49%) of the stolen vehicles were compact luxury models, according to the data. Mid-sized luxury models were next with 1,734 thefts, while premium luxury thefts totaled 500 units.

Of the 4,384 luxury vehicles stolen, 713 remained unrecovered at the time of the NICB report, which it said translates to a recovery rate of 83.7%.

“These are vehicles that are more likely to have been targeted by sophisticated organized theft rings which dismantle stolen vehicles for parts, VIN switch them to resell to unsuspecting buyers, or export them to other countries,” the report suggests.

The Infiniti G Series had the highest number of unrecovered thefts at 83, followed by the Mercedes-Benz E Class with 80, and the Mercedes-Benz C Class with 78.

California had the most thefts, with 1,063, while Florida had the next highest number at 674. New Jersey was third with 453 thefts. The top 10 states in terms of number of vehicles stolen account for about 81% of the total thefts, according to the NICB.