Cookie Notice

We use essential cookies to ensure our services work. We'd also like to use non-essential cookies to help improve your experience and for advertising purposes by collecting and analysing information on how you interact with us.

You can agree to accept all cookies by clicking 'Accept all' or select 'Essential only' below. For more information about the cookies we use, see our cookies policy.

Manage Cookies

  • We use essential cookies which are necessary to ensure our website works correctly.
  • We'd like to set non-essential analytics and marketing cookies that help us provide a better experience to our users. These help us improve our website and marketing by collecting and reporting information on the campaigns and web pages you interact with. It also helps us to target our marketing campaigns to people who are most likely to be interested in our services.
  • We'd also like to set a non-essential cookie which enables us to playback your journey on our website to assist with troubleshooting and to help us improve our website based on the behaviour of our customers.

Thefts of fully electric vehicles rise 48% as Toyota C-HR remains most stolen hybrid variant

Top 20 most stolen hybrid and electric variants, H1 2026

Last updated: 11/11/2026

Thefts of fully electric vehicles rise 48% as Toyota C-HR remains most stolen hybrid variant
  • DVLA FOI data analysed by Tempcover shows thefts of fully electric vehicles rose 48% year on year, from 1,111 in the first half of 2025 to 1,646 in the first half of 2026 (H1)
  • Fully electric vehicles made up 24% of recorded electric and hybrid thefts in H1 2026, up from 18% in H1 2025 - and seven fully electric variants now appear in the top 20 most stolen, up from two
  • Toyota's C-HR Dynamic HEV CVT remains the most stolen variant among electric and hybrid vehicles (163 thefts), while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate EV is the most stolen fully electric variant (116 thefts)

Thefts of fully electric vehicles jumped by 48% in the first half of 2026 (H1), accounting for nearly one in four of all electric and hybrid vehicles reported stolen.

Freedom of Information (FOI) data from the DVLA, analysed by temporary car insurance provider Tempcover, reveals 1,646 fully electric vehicles were reported stolen in the first half of 2026 (1 January to 30 June) - up from 1,111 during the same period of 2025.[1] The data covers vehicles reported stolen with a propulsion type of electric or hybrid.

Hybrid thefts saw a more modest 4% increase over the same timeframe, rising from 4,697 to 4,891. In total, 6,743 electric and hybrid vehicles were reported stolen in H1 2026 - up 12% from 6,015 in H1 2025 - including 206 recorded as electric diesel.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia Niro variants top the fully electric thefts

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) data shows the two millionth battery electric car was registered in the UK in April 2026.[2]

Seven fully electric variants appear in the top 20 most stolen electric and hybrid variants in H1 2026, up from two in H1 2025 - and together account for 575 thefts.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate EV is the most stolen fully electric variant, third overall, with thefts rising from 34 to 116. The sixth-placed Ioniq 5 Premium EV nearly doubled from 48 to 95. Across all trims, Ioniq 5 thefts rose from 98 to 266. The four Kia variants in the top 20 (Niro 2, 3 and 4, and the EV6 GT-Line) account for 302 thefts, compared with one Kia variant (the Niro 4) in the H1 2025 top 20.

However, increases in thefts are not limited to electric models. Among hybrids, the Hyundai Ioniq Premium HEV more than doubled (48 to 110) and the Toyota RAV4 GR Sport PHEV rose from 51 to 94, while the Toyota RAV4 Excel HEV 4x2 fell 46%.

Toyota C-HR stays the top variant, with thefts more spread out

The Toyota C-HR Dynamic HEV CVT remains the most stolen variant in the DVLA’s electric and hybrid data with 163 thefts (166 in H1 2025). It was also the most stolen variant of any fuel type across 2025 as a whole, with 437 thefts.[3] The C-HR Excel HEV CVT stays second, with thefts up 6% to 128.

Among the most stolen variants, thefts of electric and hybrid vehicles are more spread across makes than a year ago. Toyota variants took seven of the top 10 places in H1 2025, including three RAV4 variants. In H1 2026 they hold four, a 43% fall in top 10 places, with Hyundai variants taking four. Hybrids still account for two thirds of the top 20 list.

Top 20 most stolen hybrid and fully electric variants, H1 2026

[1 January to 30 June 2026, based on make and full model description as recorded by the DVLA. Joint ranks are shown where thefts are equal, so a rank is skipped after a tie. Entries where DVLA recorded no identifiable make or model are excluded.]
RankPowertrainMake and variantH1 2026H1 2025Change
1HybridToyota C-HR Dynamic HEV CVT163166−2%
2HybridToyota C-HR Excel HEV CVT128121+6%
3ElectricHyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate EV11634+241%
4HybridToyota Prius Hybrid113106+7%
5HybridHyundai Ioniq Premium HEV S-A11048+129%
6ElectricHyundai Ioniq 5 Premium EV9548+98%
7HybridToyota RAV4 GR Sport PHEV Auto9451+84%
8HybridBMW 330e M Sport Auto9179+15%
9ElectricKia Niro 2 EV8946+93%
10HybridHyundai Ioniq Premium SE HEV S-A8644+95%
11ElectricKia Niro 4 EV7851+53%
12ElectricKia Niro 3 EV7443+72%
13HybridToyota RAV4 Excel HEV CVT68100−32%
14HybridMitsubishi Outlander 4H PHEV CVT6551+27%
15HybridToyota Yaris Hybrid Icon CVT6314+350%
16ElectricNissan Leaf N-Connecta6225+148%
17=ElectricKia EV6 GT-Line6122+177%
17=HybridLexus NX 350h CVT6160+2%
19HybridToyota RAV4 Excel HEV 4x2 CVT59109−46%
20=HybridToyota C-HR GR Sport HEV CVT5853+9%
20=HybridLexus NX 300h CVT5891-36%

Jake Lambert, temporary car insurance expert at Tempcover says: “As the UK’s shift to electric vehicles gathers pace, vehicle crime is adapting alongside it. Thieves go where the opportunity is, and with more zero emission models on the road, criminal tactics are shifting to follow that volume.

“This isn’t a reason to avoid going electric, but it is a good reason to understand your insurance cover. A comprehensive policy is worth considering for an electric vehicle because it can cover the car, including its high-voltage battery, against accidental damage, third-party claims and theft, whether it’s on the road or parked up. Cover varies between policies, so check what yours includes for the battery, charging cable and in-car tech.

“Electric car ownership also changes how households get around - from borrowing a friend or family member’s electric vehicle, or sharing one for a trip. Temporary insurance can be set up in minutes, giving you your own cover behind the wheel, separate from the car owner’s policy.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

  1. DVLA data: Available on request
  2. SMMT data: SMMT, Two millionth electric car registered as market rebounds strongly from tax changes published 5 May 2026. The figure counts battery electric cars registered since 2002 and does not represent cars currently on the road.
  3. Earlier Tempcover releases: this release uses a more recent DVLA extract than Tempcover’s earlier analyses, so some counts differ slightly. It covers electric and hybrid vehicles only. Tempcover’s full-year 2025 report (FOIR13030) and H1 2026 report (FOIR13557) cover all fuel types and use separate DVLA requests, so they should not be compared directly with these figures.