Vehicle thefts in California declined for a second consecutive year in 2025, dropping nearly 25% to their lowest annual total in 10 years, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol.
A total of 133,372 vehicles were stolen statewide last year, down 24.3% from 176,230 in 2024. The 2024 total had itself fallen 13.1% from the previous year.
The decline followed a steep rise in vehicle thefts that began in 2020. After falling to 151,244 thefts in 2019, the statewide total climbed to 202,893 in 2023 before falling the past two years. The 2025 total was about 34% below that recent peak.
Los Angeles County recorded 47,191 vehicle thefts in 2025, down 18.6% from the previous year. Orange County had 5,471 thefts, a 24.3% decrease; Riverside County recorded 6,012, down 21.4%; and San Bernardino County had 7,759, down 23.3%.
Each of the four counties had also recorded fewer vehicle thefts in 2024 than in 2023.
CHP officials have pointed to expanded crime-suppression operations as one factor in the recent decline in vehicle thefts. Those teams conduct broader enforcement and can assist with stolen-vehicle recoveries, warrants and other crimes.
Separate from those teams, regional auto-theft task forces have long focused specifically on larger vehicle-theft operations, including chop shops, VIN switching and organized theft rings, Officer Shane Hernandez, a spokesman for CHP’s Inland Division, said.
Hernandez said the CHP has increasingly moved from periodic area-saturation efforts toward full-time crime-suppression teams, giving officers more consistent resources to target stolen vehicles and assist with larger investigations.
Officer Jared Grieshaber, a spokesman for CHP’s Border Division, which includes Orange County, said each CHP division has its own crime-suppression team and also works with regional auto-theft task forces.
The types of theft officers encounter, however, can vary by region.
Grieshaber said Orange County investigators are seeing several types of fraud involving vehicle purchases and dealerships.
In some cases, a legitimate buyer purchases a vehicle that is being transported for delivery, only for thieves to intercept it before it reaches the customer, he said.
Investigators also are seeing VIN-switching schemes in which thieves alter a stolen vehicle’s identification number and create fraudulent paperwork, allowing the vehicle to be sold to an unsuspecting buyer who believes the transaction is legitimate, Grieshaber said.
Other cases involve thieves stealing keys from dealerships, creating fake key fobs or using false identities and fraudulent financial records to obtain vehicles from dealerships, he said.
“As technology gets better, thieves get better,” Grieshaber said. “It’s like a cat and mouse game.”
Other crimes of opportunity, such as hot-wiring vehicles or taking cars left unlocked, also continue to occur.
Statewide, the most frequently stolen automobiles in 2025 were the 2013 Hyundai Elantra, 2015 Kia Optima and 2013 Hyundai Sonata. Older Chevrolet Silverados led the personal truck and SUV category, with the 2001, 2002 and 2004 model years taking the top three spots.
In the Inland Empire, Hernandez said older vehicles without newer security features remain frequent targets. Thieves may break a window or punch through a door handle to gain entry.
Hernandez said the CHP also has seen juveniles stealing vehicles after videos circulated on social media showing how to break into and start certain cars. Some then film themselves stealing the vehicles or taking them on joyrides, he said.
The trend has included the so-called “Kia Boy” challenge involving certain Kia and Hyundai models, Hernandez said. He said manufacturers have offered corrective measures and urged owners of affected vehicles to have available security upgrades completed.
Hernandez said investigators in the Inland Empire also encounter stolen Dodge Chargers, Challengers, Ram TRXs and GMC SUVs, including vehicles later advertised for sale on online marketplaces. Stolen vehicles also are not necessarily recovered in the same county where they were taken, he said.
Hernandez said it is difficult to quantify how many vehicle thefts are tied to organized theft rings versus crimes of opportunity because officers encounter both.
Officers urged drivers to take basic precautions, including locking their vehicles, not leaving them running unattended, keeping valuables out of sight and parking in well-lit areas.
“If it’s not an operation or ring, it’s really a crime of opportunity,” Hernandez said. “If you make it more inconvenient for someone trying to get in and get it fast, they’re probably going to look at it and go to the next one.”
