Today, Équité Association unveiled Canadian Q1 2025 auto theft trends, which shows a continued national decrease in vehicle theft (-23.3%) alongside concerning recovery rates of stolen vehicles (58.3% of stolen vehicles were recovered in Q1 2025 with 63.1% in Q1 2024). A strong governmental and law enforcement approach to combatting auto theft is supporting a progressive decrease. However, on a backdrop of economic headwinds and the complexities of international trade, there is a concerning rate in unrecovered stolen vehicles.

As tariffs against the Canadian automotive industry continue to make vehicle parts more expensive in Canada and abroad, there will likely be a shift towards criminals stealing vehicles destined for chop shops or being re-VINed, which is a contributing factor to why 40% of stolen vehicles have not been recovered in Q1 of this year. This follows a similar trend to the supply and demand issues of vehicles during COVID, which drove more organized crime groups into committing vehicle crimes.

“This sizable decrease in vehicle theft is attributed to the collective efforts and meaningful actions taken by key stakeholders over the past year aligned with the National Action Plan on Combatting Auto Theft,” said Bryan Gast, National Vice President of Investigative Services at Équité Association. “The concerning rate of unrecovered stolen vehicles is likely to continue as economic uncertainty and automotive tariffs make vehicles and parts more expensive. Additionally, we know the criminal organizations behind these vehicle crimes are doing this to fund illicit activities in Canada.”

Chop shops are illicit establishments that specialize in dismantling stolen vehicles, stripping them down to their essential components, and selling off the parts for profit. Additionally, these chop shops may attempt to fix wrecked vehicles with stolen parts. In this way, chop shops pose a significant threat to car buyers, as the used vehicles they purchase from unregistered dealers could contain stolen parts, compromising their safety and legality.

Re-VIN fraud is the purposeful changing of a VIN for fraudulent financial gains. Équité investigators have seen instances where criminals will insure a re-VINed vehicle and falsely claim it as stolen against their insurance policy. The proceeds are then used to finance illegal activities, including drug trafficking, which poses an ongoing safety threat to all Canadians.

Équité’s member insurers are doing more than ever to protect their customers. Through Équité, members have access to specific anti-fraud expertise designed to prevent and disrupt insurance crime. As Canada’s national authority on insurance crime and fraud prevention, Équité is the centre-point of collaboration between the insurance industry, law enforcement, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), government, and industry partners. Our collaborative industry approach is key to combatting the growing insurance crime problem in Canada.