The theft rate for passenger and light commercial vehicles in Australia continued on a downward path in the September quarter, but profit-motivated non-recoveries continue to be a fly in the ointment.

New figures from the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council (NMVTRC) show a 10% reduction in thefts for the 12 months to September 30 brought the figure down to 50,500 – a new low since the council began 10 years ago.

NMVTRC Executive Director Ray Carroll says while the drop-off in total theft numbers is great news, underlying profit-motivated theft as a proportion of vehicles stolen is now hovering around 25%, compared with 15% in 2001. He says the figure is improving slowly at best.

The situation has actually deteriorated in NSW, which has 29% of Australia’s vehicle population but accounts for 52% of those stolen and not recovered.

Mr Carroll says scrap metal prices have crept back to historical averages of about $160 a tonne after cooling off during the global financial crisis, and this is providing renewed motivation.

“At its peak in July last year scrap metal was pushing $400 a tonne,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “It’s during that January to July period that lots of people jumped on the bandwagon.

“There were too many putting ads in the paper offering to pick up people’s old cars for free – so they started picking up cars for free from people who didn’t know about it.”