It happened in St John’s Wood, North London at around 5:30am on January 9.
Watch the shocking moment thieves drive off in a £70,000 Range Rover in seconds.
The incident took place in St John’s Wood, North London at around 5:30am on Tuesday 9 January.
In the video you see a masked thief being dropped at the scene on the back of a motorbike, before using a crow bar to force the window open and jump into the drivers seat of the Black 4×4.
The CCTV footage, published on X by ‘London and UK Street News’, see the criminals start the engine and fleeing the scene in opposite directions – all in under a minute.
Data from the DVLA revealed in May that Range Rovers are increasingly high-profile targets for thieves, with the Velar R-Dyn model being the most sought out car by criminals, with two in every 100 of the model stolen.
The incident took place in St John’s Wood, North London at around 5:30am on Tuesday 9 JanuaryA masked thief being dropped at the scene on the back of a motorbike, before using a crow bar to force the window open and jump into the drivers seat of the Black 4×4
READ MORE: Couple are forced to sell new Land Rover at a £14,000 loss ONE MONTH after buying it after insurers cancelled their policy – and manufacturer won’t insure them either despite being ‘model drivers’
Land Rover was the most stolen brand, with 924 stolen per 100,000 in the 12 months to March 2023.
Separate data from LeaseLoco in February showed there was a 47 per cent jump in the number of Range Rovers reported stolen to police between 2021 and 2022 – a rise from 3,754 to 5,533.
Alongside this Range Rover’s are seeing a sharp decline in price, as owners struggle to get the vehicles insured because of their high theft rate.
The average price of a used Range Rover has fallen 9 per cent since May to £35,224, compared to a decline of 3 per cent for all cars according to Auto Trader.
One couple were forced to sell their nearly brand new top-of-the-range Land Rover at a £14,000 loss after an insurance company cancelled her policy just one month after buying it.
Stay-at-home-mother Hannah Platts, 40, and husband Kareem Chester, 39, bought a new Land Rover Defender for £80,000 in October last year, and after fishing around for an insurance quote, got one for £2,300 a year.
‘The only reason we have an SUV is because where we live is rural. The roads are terrible, they’re full of potholes, they don’t them grit in the winter so it’s dicey to drive,’ Mrs Platts, from the rural village of Audlem, in south Cheshire told MailOnline.
Land Rover was the most stolen brand, with 924 stolen per 100,000 in the 12 months to March 2023The average price of a used Range Rover has fallen 9 per cent since May to £35,224, compared to a decline of 3 per cent for all cars according to Auto Trader
READ MORE: Is this Britain’s most uninsurable car? Range Rover owner is quoted £14,000 for a policy on his four-year-old model – and manufacturer’s own insurance firm won’t cover him at all
After owning the car for just a few weeks, the couple received an email from insurers Adrian Flux while visiting friends in Sweden in November, which said: ‘We can no longer insure your Land Rover Defender.’
The mother-of-two dedicated an entire day to finding a new quote but the best she found was around £11,000 a year, despite being a ‘model driver’ – but unwilling to pay more than 10 per cent of the car’s value in insurance each year she decided to sell it, even if it meant taking a loss
It comes amid the recent spike in keyless car crime which has seen this become the most common tactic used by organised criminals to steal high-value motors.
It comes after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) confirmed it will spend £10million in the battle against keyless car thieves by retrofitting older models.
The company, which is owned by Indian giant Tata, said its latest security technology will create a virtual barrier that will block the recent spate of breaches of driverless system in its vehicles.
JLR said its latest anti-theft systems in its newest models manufactured from last year onwards are far less susceptible to breaches of its keyless technology.
The firm also said that since January last year, only 0.07 per cent of new Range Rover and Range Rover Sports on the road with the latest security setup have been stolen, while only 0.3 per cent of new Defenders had been affected since 2020.
Top security tips to protect your car from thieves using hi-tech tactics
1. Keep your key fob well away from your vehicle – and store it in a Faraday wallet
To best protect against keyless car theft, always place the keyfob as far away from the vehicle as you can and store it in a location that is not close to doors or windows in your property.
Even keeping them upstairs or in a room that’s the furthest distance from your driveway will not guarantee that a criminal using relay tactics won’t be able to infiltrate the signal.
For the best level of protection, owners of cars with keyless tech should purchase a Faraday pouch or wallet.
You can buy these online for as little as £5. They isolate the key fob’s signal so it can’t be replicated by thieves.
Metal tins and boxes will also provide similar protective levels, as will keeping your key fob in a fridge freezer, microwave or oven – just remember they are in there before turning on the latter two.
Also, don’t forget about your spare keys and apply the same level of care you would to your main keys or fob.
2. Invest in extra anti-theft protection
A simple steering wheel lock or wheel clamp might look ugly but are a great tool to deter even the hardiest criminals with the most tech.
They will act as a visual deterrent for thieves who will likely avoid them.
For a criminal to remove a steering wheel lock typically requires the use of noisy drills or saws to cut through, and therefore they are the ideal first line of defence for owners with models that have keyless car tech.
Drivers should also consider wheel clamps as well as having alarm systems and trackers (read more about these below) installed.
Owners of vans with keyless technology should also consider fitting deadbolts for additional protection, especially if they store expensive tools and items in their commercial vehicles overnight.
3. Be mindful when locking the doors
It may sound simple but always make sure your vehicle is locked every time you leave it – especially in busy car parks where thieves often use signal blockers.
Many drivers also don’t realise that on some vehicle models if you press your key fob only once your car will only be single locked.
This means that if you smashed the window you could manually open the car by reaching in and pulling the handle from the inside.
To double lock, key fobs can require a second press of the locking button to engage the full security features. It is important to read your car’s manual when you first get it and familiarise how to securely lock your car when you’re not in it.
4. Think carefully about where you park overnight
Most often, keyless car thefts take place on owners’ driveways. While motorists might think having their vehicle in such close proximity to their property guarantees its security, this is certainly not the case when it comes to relay thefts – quite the contrary, in fact, as it means the car is closer to where they keys are inside your home.
That’s why owners with off-street parking should consider additional measures.
Driveway parking posts are a cheap but efficient way of deterring would-be thieves.
Drivers can also go one step further and install lockable gates in their driveway, while simple CCTV systems can provide further peace of mind.
Luxury cars, which are at greater risk of theft, should be parked in a locked garage where possible.
For those without off-street parking who leave their cars on the road outside their home, you are also not safe from these criminals.
Consider parking further away from your property than usual – and try to find a space under a streetlight so that thieves are exposed when trying to steal your car at night.
If you live on a residential street where there are also business, park outside one with a CCTV camera installed.
5. Install a tracking device in your car
Installing a tracker system in your vehicle, such as a Thatcham approved device, offers an extra layer of security.
A tracking device won’t stop your vehicle being stolen, but it significantly increases the chances of the police recovering and returning it to you.
They cost from between £250 and £800 and the most secure use military-grade tech to locate the whereabouts of cars.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
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