Throughout history, the automotive industry has always been one of the most receptive industries to emerging technologies. Technology has defined the way cars are manufactured, operated and maintained. More recently, technology has redefined the way cars use fuel, with electric, hybrid and hydrogen systems beginning to displace the internal combustion engine and gas-fed engines as the driving force of the future.
With new technologies comes the expectation of enhanced luxury, safety and efficiency. One notable advancement of recent decades is introduction of keyless vehicle entry systems.
The first keyless vehicles appeared on the garage forecourts in the mid 1990’s. Since that time their popularity has increased and can now be found across vehicle ranges, including commercial and industrial fleets.
The use of keyless vehicle entry systems has provided new opportunity to thieves. Home Office data shows that 130,521 vehicles were stolen between April 2022 and March 2023 in England and Wales – a significant increase on the previous year of 108,028. These figures combine thefts both from, and of, vehicles so owners and operators cannot afford to be complacent. The most vulnerable cars were Land Rover, Ford and Lexus.
Vehicle thefts are not the exclusive domain of the luxury car market. Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) are a prime target for criminals. ‘Tracker’ research has indicated that bypassing keyless vehicle entry systems accounts for up to 82% of the total number of LCV thefts.
With both the Government and many law enforcement agencies asking manufacturers to improve vehicle security it is essential that owners of fleets who maintain vehicles with such entry systems take action to protect them.
When looking to procure fleet vehicles, the security of the vehicles must be one of a number of key considerations. In addition, we need to ensure that security of vehicles is properly maintained by the operators of those vehicles through the provision of effective information, instruction and guidance.
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