Raw theft counts favor whichever car sells the most, but insurers measure risk differently: claims per thousand vehicles actually insured. HLDI’s 2022-24 data flips that ranking, putting muscle cars and heavy-duty pickups far ahead of popular sedans. Here are eight vehicles insurers say thieves target hardest relative to how many are on the road.
1. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (2022-24): The Industry’s Worst Score
Insurance data from the Highway Loss Data Institute puts the Camaro ZL1’s whole-vehicle theft claim frequency at 3,949, the worst mark of any vehicle the group tracks and nearly 40 times the average for all passenger vehicles, according to a vehicle theft analysis that reviewed insurance claims filed across the 2022-24 model years.
The score reflects the ZL1’s factory horsepower and its appeal to buyers who chase performance parts, a combination that makes the car a magnet in areas with active demand for its supercharged drivetrain, wide-body fenders and staggered wheel-and-tire sets, all of which resell quickly once removed.
2. Acura TLX 4WD (2022-24): The Runner-Up By A Wide Margin
The all-wheel-drive Acura TLX posted the second-highest score in the same insurer theft data, a relative claim frequency of 2,138 compared with just 805 for the front-drive version of the same sedan, HLDI’s figures for the 2022-24 model years show.
That gap between drivetrain configurations suggests thieves are targeting specific mechanical components on the all-wheel-drive TLX rather than the model as a whole, a pattern that complicates how insurers price theft coverage for buyers who often cannot tell which parts under the skin make their particular car a target. Sticker prices and equipment lists rarely flag that a single drivetrain option can more than double a buyer’s theft-claim odds.
3. GMC Sierra 2500 crew cab 4WD (2022-24): The Heavy-Duty Standout
HLDI’s theft report puts the Sierra 2500 crew cab’s relative claim frequency at 1,023, drawn from 167,970 insured vehicle years and 768 paid whole-vehicle theft claims for the 2022-24 model years, a sample large enough that HLDI treats the result as statistically reliable rather than a fluke.
Heavy-duty pickups like the Sierra carry the same appeal to organized theft rings that pursue truck beds, tailgates, wheels and diesel drivetrains for resale, a risk that rarely shows up in raw theft-count rankings dominated by cheaper, higher-volume passenger cars sold in far greater numbers nationwide.
4. Chevrolet Silverado 3500 crew cab 4WD (2022-24): Six Times The Average Risk
The Silverado 3500 crew cab’s relative claim frequency of 662 is more than six and a half times the all-vehicle average, according to the same HLDI report, which recorded 201 paid whole-vehicle theft claims tied to the 2022-24 dual-rear-wheel model.
Dual rear wheels and heavier payload ratings make the 3500 more expensive to replace than a half-ton pickup, and its parts, from the cab to the drivetrain and towing hardware, carry a resale premium in the aftermarket that ordinary sedans simply do not command, insurers note in the filing. That combination of replacement cost and parts demand helps explain why heavy-duty dually pickups keep clustering near the top of HLDI’s rankings.
5. Dodge Durango 4WD (2022-24): Nearly Six Times The Norm
HLDI logged a relative claim frequency of 592 for the 2022-24 Durango 4WD, nearly six times the average across all passenger vehicles, based on 191 whole-vehicle theft claims tallied in the same insurer study.
The Durango shares its platform and V8 options with several other Stellantis performance models, and thieves who target the brand’s high-output engines, badges and infotainment hardware have made the SUV a frequent name on state auto-theft task force lists in recent years, insurers say. A three-row SUV built on a shared performance platform gives thieves more interchangeable, in-demand parts to pull than a single-purpose family crossover offers.
6. Land Rover Range Rover 4WD (2022-24): The Priciest SUV On The List
The Range Rover’s relative claim frequency of 540 is the highest of any SUV outside the pickup class, according to a ranking of HLDI’s findings for the 2022-24 model years, a period when the redesigned SUV carried a starting price above six figures new.
Keyless-entry relay attacks and a strong overseas resale market for the luxury SUV’s badge, wheels and interior trim give thieves more ways to profit from a stolen Range Rover than from a mainstream crossover with similar seating capacity and a fraction of the sticker price. That price gap alone can make the same relay-attack effort worth far more per vehicle to an organized theft ring.
7. Ram 1500 crew cab short-wheelbase 4WD (2022-24): The Most Stolen By Volume
The short-wheelbase Ram 1500 crew cab posted a relative claim frequency of 524 across 459,140 insured vehicle years, and its 1,074 paid theft claims are the largest raw claim count of any vehicle on HLDI’s theft-ranking list for the 2022-24 model years.
That combination of high volume and above-average claim frequency means the Ram’s sheer popularity as one of America’s best-selling pickups compounds its risk, giving thieves far more targets to choose from in any given parking lot than they would find with a rarer performance model. A truck bed, tailgate and wheel set that fits hundreds of thousands of identical trucks on the road is simply easier to resell without raising questions.
8. Honda CR-V hybrid 4WD (2023-24): The Surprise Crossover Entry
The CR-V hybrid’s relative claim frequency of 340 is the highest of any non-luxury crossover among the 20 riskiest vehicle series HLDI tracked for the 2023-24 model years, per the same theft-claim breakdown, since HLDI began separately tracking the hybrid powertrain’s claims.
Its hybrid battery pack and catalytic-converter-adjacent hardware carry black-market value beyond the vehicle itself, and the CR-V’s mainstream popularity means a stolen one is far easier to resell whole or part out unnoticed than a rarer luxury crossover with a much smaller pool of buyers. The same qualities that make the CR-V a practical, common choice for families also make its parts easy to move quietly.
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