London’s Car Thieves Are Targeting Range Rovers, and It’s Making the SUVs Hard to Insure

The Land Rover SUV is the second most stolen vehicle in the UK.

You may want to think twice about parking your Range Rover on the streets of London.

Land Rover’s top-of-the-line SUV was the second most stolen vehicle in the UK last year, reports Autocar. And with many of the thefts occurring in the country’s capital, residents are finding it exceedingly difficult to get their Range Rovers insured.

Some 5,200 Range Rovers were stolen across the UK in 2022, according to data from the country’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. (The only vehicle more frequently stolen was the compact Ford Fiesta.) The SUV isn’t being targeted because of a specific security vulnerability—unlike other vehicles that have experienced a surge in thefts—rather it’s their popularity in the UK and abroad, according to the British publication. Thieves know that if they steal one, they can get rid of it quickly for a hefty sum.

A side effect of this is that Range Rovers owners are finding it difficult to insure the vehicle, particularly in London. Land Rover used to insure its own vehicles in the UK, but stopped doing so last November. Because of this, Range Rover owners have been forced to turn to outside firms, many of which are unwilling to provide coverage or charge an exorbitant amount. One owner that Autocar talked to said that the premium they were quoted for the 2022 Range Rover Autobiography was more than the cost of insuring their other four prestige vehicles combined. The publication says that the cost of covering the SUV is triple that of the Bentley Bentayga, even though the latter costs $60,000 more.

Land Rover says it knows about the issue owners are facing and is trying to help. “We are aware of the impact that this criminality is having on the availability of insurance options for some of our clients,” a spokesperson told Autocar. “We are proactively engaging with relevant stakeholders, including insurance providers, to evidence how we are improving vehicle security and providing measures to counter this type of activity.”

Range Rovers aren’t the only luxury goods that thieves have their eyes on in London. There has also been a spike in high-end watch crime over the last year. In 2022, 700 Rolex watches and nearly 100 Patek Philippe watches were stolen within London city limits. Because of this, local authorities have launched a special task force to combat watch theft. Maybe a Range Rover task force will be next?