Short-term thefts of passenger and light commercial vehicles fell 2% to 7877 in the September quarter, taking the 12-month figure to a record low.

The rolling 12-month total fell 9% to 34,179 vehicles, led by declines in NSW, Victoria and SA, according to the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council’s Theft Watch report.

Profit-motivated theft of passenger and light commercial vehicles fell 5% to 2618 in the September quarter, down 5% from the previous quarter.

Total short-term and profit-motivated theft of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles fell 4% to 12,977.

The council’s analysis of financial-year data shows high-performance cars were stolen 2.5 times more frequently than standard-performance vehicles.

The multiple increased to 4.1 times for profit-motivated theft, while the overall theft rate of high-performance vehicles was greatest in WA and Queensland.

The data also shows vehicle theft rates dropped on Christmas Day. Only 78 thefts were reported on December 25 last financial year, down from 162 the day before.

Thefts between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve were 14% below the weekly average.