(NEXSTAR) – After years of spiking vehicle thefts, the tides have turned. The number of stolen cars reported in 2024 was down substantially, breaking the pattern of year-after-year increases set off in 2020.
This was true both nationally and in Tennessee where reported vehicle thefts dropped from 26,574 in 2023 to 19,792 in 2024, a drop of 26%.
Two charged after nearly $1 million stolen from Sevierville Target
About 850,700 vehicles were stolen in the U.S. last year, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). That’s down from more than 1 million stolen vehicles in 2023. This makes Tennessee number 11 on the list of states with the most vehicle thefts per capita (or number 10 if you exclude territories like Washington D.C. which came in first).
Despite the trend, some vehicles are still being targeted fairly often by thieves. The NICB reports two Hyundai models – the Elantra and Sonata – were still the most targeted vehicles for theft last year, as they were in 2023 …