The AA's come out with some timely advice after AMI Insurance yesterday released its list of New Zealand's top 10 most stolen cars last year.
The list saw the Toyota Aqua edge past the Mazda Demio for the top spot in the competition no-one wants to win.
The Demio, which has held the top spot in recent years, was second with the Nissan Tiida hot on its heels.
The remaining vehicles include the Mazda Atenza (Mazda 6), Toyota MarkX, Toyota Vitz, Subaru Legacy, Toyota Corolla, Subaru Impreza and Mazda Familia.
AA Insurance's head of motor claims Beau Paparoa told Breakfast it's seen "about a 16% increase in theft" over the last six months.
"Similar to last year, we can see that ram-raid activity's still quite prevalent in what we see, along with joyriding and people, somebody, just getting from point A to point B is what it looks like."
So what can you do to protect your vehicle?
Paparoa said there's a "range of things you can do and this isn't rocket science sort of stuff".
"If possible, you can park your vehicle off the street, that's a good one, but not everybody can do that. But simple things like removing your belongings or especially valuables, just keeping them out of sight," he said.
A steering wheel lock or installing an immobiliser is also a good idea.
And while the Toyota Aqua has made the top of the list, it doesn't mean people with the cars should be rushing to put them up for sale on TradeMe just yet.
"They're a great little car and I wouldn't go that far in terms of saying you shouldn't buy these vehicles, it's more just what you can do to deter those thieves. They're looking for the easy opportunity."
Paparoa said while a "steering wheel lock isn't going to completely prevent them being able to break into a car", it's "one thing that they’re going to have to deal with so they might move on to the next vehicle".
Top 10 stolen cars in NZ in 2022
Toyota Aqua
Mazda Demio
Nissan Tiida
Mazda Atenza (Mazda 6)
Toyota MarkX
Toyota Vitz
Subaru Legacy
Toyota Corolla
Subaru Impreza
Mazda Familia
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