On the back of years of theft issues in Britain with new Land Rover models, JLR has introduced a suite of security updates in that market. The updates, built into vehicles since 2022 and retrofittable to vehicles from 2018-2022, have made a marked impact on how many Land Rovers are stolen in Britain.
In North America, we mostly hear about British Land Rover theft in the terms of Defender theft -- beloved classic Defenders being stolen for parts or export. But there's also a major issue with the theft of late-model high-end models, with Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and the new Defender impacted the most. These high-demand vehicles are stolen for the same reasons: export, and to a degree, parts.
It's an issue we see somewhat in the United States, particularly in affluent areas near major coastal ports, where top-level luxury vehicles can be stolen, driven swiftly to a cool-down area near a port, then put in a container and shipped abroad. Multiple auto theft rings have been busted, focusing mostly on the highest-end Land Rover, Mercedes, and BMW products. In 2013, New Jerseyan Dustin Friedland was murdered in a carjacking in the parking garage at the swanky Mall at Short Hills, in an attempt to take his 2012 Range Rover. However, even so, the theft issue is not as pervasive here as it is in Britain.
The most significant change JLR made (at least, the most significant one they can talk about) was the implementation of Ultra-Wide Band technology in their keyless entry systems in 2018. This prevented the "relay attack," where a criminal can intercept the signal between a key and a vehicle and make a duplicate key to operate the vehicle with. Though many owners dealt with this before the advancement by keeping the keys in a Faraday pouch, even the brief moment when the key was removed to open the car could put the vehicle at risk. The UWB technology avoids this risk completely.
The entire upgrade package was a £10 million investment, done in collaboration with law enforcement and key partners. Most key was British firm Thatcham's, an automotive risk intelligence company. The results have been good so far. The first impact was seen on the new Defender from 2020, which pioneered the current generation of electrical back-end technology for Land Rover. Since launch, only 0.3% of Defenders have been stolen in the UK. Since January 2022 (a period which bridges two generations of vehicles), Range Rover and Range Rover Sport thefts have reduced so much that only 0.07% of vehicles on British roads have a theft history. The upgrades are already installed in 65,000 older vehicles, and 2018-2022 Range Rover/Range Rover Sport thefts are down by 40% since the upgrades.
Although it's unclear to what degree the upgrade package for older vehicles is relevant to North American vehicles, certainly these advancements have trickled into our latest generation Land Rover products on these shores. Everything helps to keep your beloved Rover in your driveway, but of course, nothing matters as much as locking the vehicle, activating the alarm, taking the keys with you, and removing obvious valuables from the inside.
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