Ontario’s most stolen vehicles of 2024 revealed

Are car thieves targeting your vehicle? A new report from Équité Association reveals which models are the most at risk in Ontario. 

The organization works with law enforcement agencies to stop crime on behalf of the Canadian property and casualty insurance industry.

Overall, auto theft numbers have fallen in the Greater Toronto Area in recent years. But Bryan Gast, vice-president of Équité’s investigative services division, says criminals still made off with over $1 billion across Canada in 2024. 

“Criminals still see auto theft as a high reward, low risk, even if they get caught,” he told CBC Toronto. “They’re adapting but they’re not moving away from auto theft.”

Topping the list in terms of number of Ontario vehicle thefts in this year’s data are the 2024 Honda CR-V, the 2022 Dodge Ram 1500 Series and the 2019 Honda Civic. But it’s the 2024 Lexus TX Series that leads the pack by frequency, with around one in four stolen last year.

In July, Équité released a report noting auto thefts were down by 25.9 per cent in Ontario in the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. That’s consistent with Toronto-area police data: Toronto Police Service (TPS) data shows a 29.5 per cent year-to-date decrease in 2025, while York Regional Police (YRP) data shows a 34 per cent drop and Peel Regional Police (PRP) data shows a 69 per cent drop.

But there’s still work to be done, Gast said. 

“We’re still not in a great spot. Vehicle crime is still a growing concern in Canada. Ontario and Quebec get hit the hardest, largely because of the populations of the two provinces, the volume of targeted vehicles and their proximity to the eastern ports.”

Gast attributes the overall decline in thefts to law enforcement efforts in recent years, but said Toronto, Peel, York and Durham regions remain hotspots. 

In an email to CBC Toronto, TPS spokesperson Stephanie Sayer, said the drop in thefts is hard to attribute to a single factor “but it likely reflects a combination of heightened public awareness … and law enforcement efforts, including public-education initiatives.”

She also detailed the force’s use of automated licence plate recognition technology, introduced in early 2024. The equipment “scans the licence plates of vehicles passing police cars, generating real-time alerts” and has been installed on more than 600 TPS vehicles, she said.

Varun Vir Singh, an operations manager with Flex Point Security — a Toronto-based security company that provides neighbourhood watch patrols and home security systems — told CBC Toronto he’s noticed certain kinds of vehicles are more likely to be targeted by thieves. 

“Toyotas, Hondas — they are high sale values,” he said, naming two brands showing up on Équité’s list. “People are looking for these cars because of their quality.” 

Flashy sports cars like Ford Mustangs and Dodge Challengers are popular in his experience. 

4 ways to prevent your car from being stolen

“Things have dropped a lot,” he said. “In the last year, where we have provided the security, no car has been stolen.” 

That doesn’t mean attempts haven’t been made but the more deterrents for thieves, the less likely they are to succeed, Singh said. 

Gast agreed, suggesting vehicle owners take these steps:

“You don’t have to do them all,” he said. “But if you could do one or two, just anything that adds time or one more element that the criminals have to defeat generally, is helpful.”

Gast is also reminding the public that auto theft is not a victimless crime. 

“Organized crime is using stolen vehicles as a funding mechanism for their criminal operations, whether it be drugs or firearms,” he said. “That hasn’t changed and that affects all of the communities in which we live.”