Car Theft in the Netherlands 2025: The Numbers Behind the Rise

If it feels like more cars are disappearing from Dutch streets, the data agrees. Around 7,430 passenger vehicles were reported stolen in the Netherlands in 2025 — the highest annual total since 2019, and roughly 800 more than the year before. The first half of the year alone ran about 20% ahead of the same period in 2024.

The encouraging counterpoint: recovery is holding up. Roughly 3,816 of those vehicles were found and returned — about one in every two. A modern stolen car is far from a lost cause, especially in the first hours and days after the theft, when it is still moving and still on camera.

The most-stolen models

Thieves are practical. They target vehicles that are common, easy to move, and in demand abroad. In 2025 the Toyota RAV4 led the list by a wide margin — more than 400 taken across the year, roughly eight every week. The rest of the top of the table looked like this:

• Toyota RAV4 — 403
• Volkswagen Golf — 347
• Volkswagen Polo — 283
• Mercedes-Benz A-Class — 184
• Kia Sportage — 177
• Fiat 500 — 169
• Honda C-HR — 161

One trend stands out: the Kia Sportage. Thefts of the model nearly doubled compared with 2024 and were an order of magnitude higher than in 2023 — a reminder that thieves shift targets quickly as demand and vulnerabilities change.

By brand, and by season

At the brand level, Toyota (about 1,100) and Volkswagen (about 1,000) were the two most-targeted marques, followed by Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Kia. Theft also has a rhythm across the year: September was the busiest month with 689 vehicles taken, while June was quietest at 601.

Where the cars go

A large share of high-value and export-friendly vehicles never stays in the country. Many are driven toward the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, loaded into shipping containers, and sent onward — frequently to West Africa — often within a day or two of being taken. That short window is exactly why speed matters so much in recovery.

The cars that come back are usually the ones that are spotted quickly — on a highway, near a border, or approaching a port.

What owners can actually do

Two things move the odds. First, prevention: most modern thefts are electronic (see our guide on relay attacks), and simple measures like a signal-blocking pouch for your key, a visible steering lock, and an OBD-port lock make your car a harder target. Second, speed of response: report the theft immediately, get it into a public database that buyers and spotters actually check, and make it easy for people along the likely escape routes to recognise it.

That's the whole idea behind CarTrace. Report your vehicle for free, check any VIN before you buy, and — for active cases — watch the public highway, border and port cameras along the routes a stolen car is most likely to take.