Final Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.

ACTION:

Publication of 2012 final theft data.

SUMMARY:

This document publishes the final data on thefts of model year (MY) 2012 passenger motor vehicles that occurred in calendar year (CY) 2012. The final 2012 theft data indicated an increase in the vehicle theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2012. The final theft rate for MY 2012 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2012 is 1.1294 thefts per thousand vehicles, an increase of 14.21 percent from the rate of 0.9889 thefts per thousand in 2011. Publication of these data fulfills NHTSA's statutory obligation to periodically obtain accurate and timely theft data and publish the information for review and comment.

DATES:

Effective date: November 25, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Deborah Mazyck, Office of International Policy, Fuel Economy and Consumer Programs, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Mazyck's telephone number is (202) 366-4139. Her fax number is (202) 493-2990.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NHTSA administers a program for reducing motor vehicle theft. The central feature of this program is the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard, 49 CFR Part 541. The standard specifies performance requirements for inscribing and affixing vehicle identification numbers (VINs) onto certain major original equipment and replacement parts of high-theft lines of passenger motor vehicles.

The agency is required by 49 U.S.C. 33104(b)(4) to periodically obtain, from the most reliable source, accurate and timely theft data and publish the data for review and comment. To fulfill this statutory mandate, NHTSA has published theft data annually beginning with MYs 1983/84. Continuing to fulfill the section 33104(b)(4) mandate, this document reports the final theft data for CY 2012, the most recent calendar year for which data are available.

In calculating the 2012 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same procedures it used in calculating the MY 2011 theft rates. (For 2011 theft data calculations, see 79 FR 7090.) As in all previous reports, NHTSA's data were based on information provided to NHTSA by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NCIC is a government system that receives vehicle theft information from nearly 23,000 criminal justice agencies and other law enforcement authorities throughout the United States. The NCIC data also include reported thefts of self-insured and uninsured vehicles, not all of which are reported to other data sources.

The 2012 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 2012 vehicles of that line stolen during calendar year 2012 by the total number of vehicles in that line manufactured for MY 2012, as reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The final 2012 theft data show a slight increase in the vehicle theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2011. The final theft rate for MY 2012 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2012 increased to 1.1294 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, an increase of 14.21 percent from the rate of 0.9889 thefts per thousand vehicles experienced by MY 2011 vehicles in CY 2011. A similar increasing trend in vehicle thefts was reported in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) 2012 Uniform Crime Report showing a 0.6% increase in motor vehicle thefts (automobiles, trucks, buses and other vehicles) from 2011 to 2012. Historically, the data has shown an overall decreasing trend in theft rates since CY 1993, with periods of increase from one year to the next. The agency welcomed public comment on the cause for the slight increase, but none were received.

For MY 2012 vehicles, out of a total of 211 vehicle lines, nine lines had a theft rate higher than 3.5826 per thousand vehicles, the established median theft rate for MYs 1990/1991. (See 59 FR 12400, March 16, 1994). Of the nine vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, eight are passenger car lines, one is a multipurpose passenger vehicle line, and none are light-duty truck lines.

On Tuesday, August 5, 2014, NHTSA published the preliminary theft rates for CY 2012 passenger motor vehicles in the Federal Register (79 FR 45412). The agency tentatively ranked each of the MY 2012 vehicle lines in descending order of theft rate. The public was requested to comment on the accuracy of the data and to provide final production figures for individual vehicle lines. The agency did not receive any comments from the public that would make adjustments to its data. As a result, the final theft rates and rankings of vehicle lines did not change from those published in the August 2014 notice.

Subsequent to the August 5, 2014, publication of preliminary theft data, BYD Motors, Inc. (BYD) submitted its EPA production data for the e6 vehicle line. NHTSA has corrected the final theft data to include an entry for the BYD e6 vehicle line. As a result of this correction, the final theft list has been revised accordingly. The BYD e6, previously omitted, is ranked No. 211 with a theft rate of 0.0000.

The following list represents NHTSA's final calculation of theft rates for all 2012 passenger motor vehicle lines. This list is intended to inform the public of calendar year 2012 motor vehicle thefts of model year 2012 vehicles and does not have any effect on the obligations of regulated parties under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 331, Theft Prevention.

Under authority delegated in 49 CFR part 1.95.