When it comes to car theft, many drivers in South Africa experience fear. To add to this fear, the idea that your car could be hijacked in seconds, simply driven over a wonky fence, and disappear without a trace not only seems scary but a bit ridiculous.
Car owners are becoming increasingly vulnerable as criminals find new ways to target their vehicles. Well, here’s the truth about car theft in South Africa, Mozambique's high-risk border, and Cartrack’s vehicle tracking solutions, so you know exactly how to protect yourself.
South Africa has the third highest crime rate in the world, and the latest crime stats show that there are an average of 65 vehicles hijacked in South Africa every day.
One of the key factors contributing to the increase in car theft in South Africa is the high demand for stolen vehicles in the black market. These days, vehicles are commonly being stolen to be stripped for vehicle parts or to be resold for profit, and less for personal use.
To add to the vehicle theft crises in SA, as car technology advances, criminals also adapt, and the recent but well-orchestrated trend of smuggling stolen vehicles into Mozambique from South Africa has become a major concern.
Vehicle smuggling refers to the illegal transportation of vehicles across national borders for profit, reselling, stripping, and even theft for personal use. It often involves hijacked or stolen vehicles and requires other fraudulent activity, such as using false vehicle registration, documents, and declarations to get the vehicle from one country to another.
Crime syndicates use weaknesses in the South African security systems at border posts, such as lack of compliance, slow procedures, corruption, and other factors, to smuggle vehicles across the borders.
But sometimes, borders are exploited and crime syndicates don’t even have to create false paperwork/documentation to get a stolen vehicle across the border. This is exactly what is happening with the Mozambique high-risk border.
A recent Carte Blanche investigation revealed that some of the borderlines between South Africa and neighbouring countries like Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe are merely made of cattle wire fencing. These borderlines can easily be bent, removed, or flattened to pass cars over to neighbouring countries, and now vehicle smuggling has never been easier.
In just the first four months of 2024, it is estimated that over 50 vehicles have been smuggled into Mozambique. Although authorities in neighbouring countries are working with South Africa to ensure this criminal activity ends, the truth about this high-risk border is that it stands out as one of our state security failures, which criminal syndicates take advantage of.
Knowing the top vehicle theft trends in South Africa will help motorists and fleet owners understand how to prevent their vehicles from disappearing into Mozambique or any other neighbouring country.
Understanding the different vehicle theft trends can boost your safety, here are the top vehicle theft trends you should be aware of based on the South African Police Service (SAPS) 2023/2034 report and recent news reports on vehicle theft.
Hijackers and car theft syndicates in South Africa tend to target specific vehicle types and models for various reasons, including:
The SAPS has recorded that sedans, hatchbacks, coupés and bakkies are some of the most commonly targeted vehicles for carjackings. Various vehicle models are being targeted, and whether it’s an older vehicle or a newly manufactured vehicle, it doesn’t seem to matter.
Gauteng remains one of the most afflicted provinces by vehicle theft, with 3,010 of all occurrences reported in this province. In the 2023-2024 period, the Western Cape experienced the second-highest volume of vehicle theft with 856 reports, and KwaZulu-Natal had slightly fewer incident reports with 834 vehicle hijackings reported in the same period.
Crime patterns can vary, and car theft syndicates will often change their strategy and target different types of vehicles in different areas. For example, bakkies, off-road vehicles, and 4X4s are the most commonly stolen vehicles in Gauteng and are frequently targeted by thieves due to their high demand, resale value, and popularity. Other car theft reports show that smaller bakkies are less likely to be stolen in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal compared to Gauteng, where small bakkie car theft is quite common.
Truck hijackings are another challenge for South African businesses that not only have to worry about driver safety but also strategise how to mitigate truck and cargo theft risks.
Like car theft, truck hijackers target specific trucks, trailers, and cargo that they can sell quickly. More than 80% of goods are transported by road within South Africa and to neighbouring countries too.
Truck hijackings decreased by 3.4% to 542 reported incidents in the third quarter of the 2023-2024 period in South Africa, compared to the same quarter in the previous year. This should be promising news for businesses running a fleet truck operation; however, there were 1,996 total truck hijackings in South Africa in 2023, which is still alarming.
In South Africa, vehicle theft has been a major problem over the years. In fact, most drivers are extremely cautious and aim to be on guard at all times for potential hijackings. Here’s our Cartrack guide on how individuals and businesses can prevent or reduce the risk of vehicle theft or hijacking.
You now know what types of vehicles are targeted, the regional areas where most vehicle theft and hijackings occur, and the prevalence of truck hijackings too.
But the truth is that complex factors are at play when it comes to Mozambique’s high-risk border and vehicle smuggling activity in South Africa. Therefore, combating car theft requires law enforcement agencies, vehicle owners, and tracking companies to work together to implement effective security and protection measures.
Some of the effective ways to prevent vehicle smuggling across borders from South Africa include:
So what can vehicle owners do to prevent vehicle theft or being hijacked?
Our Cartrack guide on how to prevent vehicle theft and hijacking in South Africa is useful for individuals and businesses looking to reduce the risk of their vehicles, whether you are attempting to protect one vehicle or five hundred vehicles.
Most newer vehicles already have anti-theft systems in place, such as an audible alarm system or a central locking system, but there are also solutions available that individuals can purchase to boost their security.
Here are a few anti-theft ideas:
Investing in some form of vehicle theft prevention tool can be an effective way to discourage criminals from attempting to steal your vehicle.
Vehicle theft has become a little more difficult for crime syndicates because of the use of anti-theft devices for cars, immobilisers, and gear locks, among other anti-theft tools. This has increased the number of hijackings, and criminals plan to hijack drivers too.
Hijackers use various strategies, here are a few methods you should be aware of:
You can prevent being a victim of a hijacking by:
One of the best risk mitigation decisions individuals can make is getting a GPS tracking device installed. Insurance companies cover you financially if your vehicle is stolen. Getting a tracking device from a stolen vehicle recovery company can help you recover your car, as opposed to having to replace it. Most insurance companies in South Africa also require motorists to have a tracking device installed before insuring their vehicles.
Cartrack is one of the leading providers of stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) services in South Africa, offering various products and services to over two million subscribers for vehicle protection and security.
We boast an over 90% vehicle recovery rate and use an extensively trained on-the-ground and air recovery team to track and recover hijacked or stolen vehicles in South Africa.
With branches in 23 different countries and our advanced GPS tracking, our company is one of few on the continent that can track and recover your vehicle across neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe, Eswatini, and Mozambique.
We’ve been dedicated to providing vehicle security since 2004 and have designed features to put drivers and businesses in control:
In December 2020, one of our successful stolen vehicle recovery stories trended online. Our recovery team tracked a stolen bakkie to the Komatipoort border/Lembombo port entry. The bakkie was found hidden under hay bundles, and the transports were attempting to bring the vehicle into Mozambique.
Whether criminals use high-risk borders such as the Komatipoort border to smuggle vehicles into Mozambique or attempt to drive across unofficial border points, Cartrack makes every effort to track and recover their customer's vehicles.
Criminals use various strategies for vehicle theft and often attempt to smuggle vehicles across borders by exploiting vulnerabilities in our security systems, fraudulent documentation processes, and other corrupt practices.
Well, vehicle owners can rely on Cartrack’s stolen vehicle recovery expertise to protect their vehicles.
Contact us here for a free quote today.
Protect your vehicle with Cartrack today! Contact us here.
What happens when your vehicle is smuggled into a different country? Here’s what you need to know about vehicle smuggling over the infamous Mozambican border.
