Jaguar Land Rover investing more than £1million in policing to target UK vehicle thefts

  • ITV Central's Rosie Dowsing reports from JLR in Coventry

Jaguar Land Rover is investing more than one million pounds in policing to target vehicle thefts in the UK, as owners say their cars are proving difficult or expensive to insure.

The Coventry-based carmaker JLR says it’s committing money to ‘proactive policing’ to tackle crime groups targeting vehicles across the country.

The company says the money will help police forces with resources to respond in car-theft hotspots.

It will also help with increased checks at ports which criminal gangs have used to export vehicles.

It had previously been reported that the company’s Range Rover was ‘Britain’s most stolen vehicle’, but Adrian Mardell, the CEO of JLR, has described those claims as “misinformation” and a “myth”.

The reputation has led to insurers charging more to cover Land Rovers and Range Rovers, with one driver saying his old insurer was refusing to renew the insurance on his Range Rover, and quotes from other insurers were more than £10,000.

As well as affecting insurance costs, it’s also impacted resale value of Land Rover and Range Rover models Credit: JLR

Raf Sabir from Birmingham says he then tried to insure directly through JLR’s own insurance but was apparently denied. He eventually found insurance but pays more than three times his previous annual amount.

As well as affecting insurance costs, it’s also impacted resale value, with Land Rover and Range Rover models dropping more rapidly compared to the market average, according to figures from market data providers Cap Hpi.

JLR says its latest generation of vehicles is “highly resistant” to theft, and that it’s spent £15 million to update the security on older cars.

Patrick McGillycuddy, Managing Director JLR UK, said: “We are constantly developing our systems and security features and through our close collaboration with police, we stay ahead of any emerging methods and quickly deploy anti-theft measures.

This additional investment, coupled with our other ongoing and proactive action, shows our commitment to supporting the authorities in having a tangible impact on combating this issue in the UK.”