If you are chauffeuring a client in a Range Rover after midnight in London, be prepared to see blue lights behind you as it’s very likely you will be pulled over – according to a report in The Standard today.
Police in a London borough are being instructed to stop all drivers of Range Rovers to check they own the vehicle because of the number of the cars being stolen using “keyless” entry methods.
Officers in Kensington & Chelsea are being told to check the details of Range Rover drivers after the borough topped the league for “car hacking” thefts in London.
Scotland Yard says thefts of Range Rovers now make up 10 per cent of all “keyless” thefts in the capital – while BMW makes up 15 per cent of the total.
He said thieves had managed to find a way to steal cars without keys and were using a device to replicate the electronic entry keys or using a device to insert into the ignition systems. The devices were easy to buy over the internet, he said.
He said: “Until we get that design problem sorted out we have a problem and my concern is that the number of cars being stolen will rise. This could very quickly become an issue.”
Sir Bernard said 24,000 cars were stolen in London last year – compared to 23,000 the previous year. He said some vehicles were more vulnerable because of the way their alarm systems worked.
BMW and Range Rovers and Land Rovers, in particular, were being targeted by the theft gangs.
Figures from Thatcham Research, the motor insurers’ research centre, show that between January and July 2014 almost 300 Range Rover Evoques and Range Rover Sports were stolen in London, along with 63 BMW X5s and Series 3 models.
Source: The Standard.
