The National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council is working on a new public campaign after a 9% rise in the number of vehicles stolen last year.

Thieves made off with 58,285 vehicles, a 4802 increase from 2018, the council says in its March theft watch newsletter.

Theft of passenger and light commercial (PLC) vehicles, worth about $603 million, worsened 9% to 46,285.

“The council is working on a new suite of public education resources to help homeowners and motorists mitigate related risks,” CEO Geoff Hughes told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

He says the increase “is consistent nationally, and when you look at the types of vehicles being stolen… they almost invariably will have been preceded by a residential burglary to access keys”.

As for older vehicles, he says owners should “update to electronic immobilisers and look after their keys”.

Profit-motivated thefts rose 15%, driven by large increases in thefts of PLC vehicles and motorcycles.

Theft volumes were up in all jurisdictions except for the NT.