"Horns and legs remain": how cars are stolen for spare parts
Insurance companies have reported a significant increase in the number of thefts of cars and trucks for disassembly for spare parts. Experts say that we are still talking about a small group of models, but in the future many cars may be at risk. Statistics show that rare spare parts are removed from cars without theft. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
A sign of theft
According to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs over the past year, the number of carjackings without the purpose of theft, as well as thefts, continued to decrease. Thefts decreased by 13% compared to last year (10,731), thefts — by 19.5% (3046). However, data from the first two months of 2025 indicate an increase in the number of thefts — by 6.7% (412 cases). However, they are noticeably less than the number of thefts without the purpose of theft, of which 1,384 were committed in January-February (minus 4.7% by 2023).
Sometimes the police open a case under Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Theft), Sergei Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement, told Izvestia, but if the car was not found, the case will be reclassified to Article 158 ("Theft").
— If the car was not found, then this is a sign of theft. Sometimes a theft case is immediately initiated if the owner came to the police a week later and reported her missing. It is clear that she was stolen, and not taken for a ride," Sergei Radko said.
They take what glitters
The detection rate of such crimes has decreased in two months, according to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Criminals have become more sophisticated in their approach to theft, said one of the founders of a company producing anti-theft systems, Hijacking.No" Alexey Kurchanov. For example, they began to use new electronic lock picks capable of relaying the signal of the standard key from the owner to the car over short distances (up to 150 m). This is enough to open the car and start it. Absolutely all cars with contactless access are at risk, Kurchanov said.
In some cases, the attackers can still be found. So, on April 1, two residents of Moscow were detained, who are suspected of a series of car thefts and the theft of a foreign car.
The suspects, according to investigators, were looking for foreign cars in the Southeastern district of the capital. One of them used a special device to suppress the GPS signal and open the door locks, while the other got behind the wheel and drove away. They disassembled the stolen cars for spare parts and sold them in various regions of the country, the press center of the Russian Interior Ministry reported.
In some cases, criminals simply remove running gear and easily accessible spare parts from parked cars.
In the Moscow region in February, a man was detained who tore off the mirrors of six cars parked on the streets, causing damage to the owners in the amount of about 300 thousand rubles. He had previously been convicted of similar crimes.
At about the same time, a resident of Novosibirsk was detained in the Altai Territory, who had been removing side rear-view mirrors, along with body rails, from parked foreign cars for a year. The attacker also entered the car interiors, smashing windows, and dismantled the power window control units. He committed crimes exclusively at night, stealing spare parts mainly from Lexus cars. He sold stolen goods in the Novosibirsk region.
Currently, his involvement in the theft of items from 13 vehicles in Barnaul and from one car in Novoaltaysk has been established. The amount of damage caused was about 200 thousand rubles.
They fix the hard hat
Experts interviewed by Izvestia say that the situation with car thefts is stable, and the increase in episodes concerns individual models and classes of cars. Vice-president of the National Automobile Union (NAS) Jan Heitser suggested that the hype around the increase in hijackings may be artificially created by insurers in order to increase sales of hard hat policies. His words are indirectly confirmed by the data of the National Credit Ratings (NCR), which indicate an increase in the loss ratio in this type of insurance to 50%. This is particularly due to the fact that in recent years there has been a reduction in the number of carjackings and thefts.
"The car can no longer be identified"
The situation with car crime may change in 2025, the NKR warned.
— This applies, for example, to Korean brands, of which there are many on the market and there is a shortage of spare parts because they left our country. A number of Chinese brands also have problems with the supply of spare parts. Apparently, there is a need to fill the market with used spare parts at more affordable prices. The car is usually stolen at someone's request, it is sorted out quite quickly, the necessary parts are sent to the customer, and the rest are sold on marketplaces," Igor Morzharetto, a member of the presidium of the Public Council at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, told Izvestia.
Maxim Kadakov, the editor-in-chief of Behind the Wheel, agrees with him.
— According to investigators, a stolen car "lives" in Moscow for three to four hours if it was stolen for a specific purpose. Either she leaves the city, or the horns and legs remain of her, she has already been disassembled, all the numbers have been cut out and disposed of. The car can no longer be identified. If there is a demand for some spare parts, but they are not on the market or they are too expensive, then why not steal a car "for analysis". These are not necessarily bodies, but also some individual components and assemblies like a gearbox, a steering rack," Kadakov said.
He drew attention to the fact that the market for used spare parts and "auto parts" is in a "gray area" — payments are made in cash and it is impossible to establish where a particular spare part came from.
There are "disassemblers" that work without crime, but they usually have a smaller range of spare parts, notes Jan Heitser. According to him, 95% of cars are stolen for analysis, as this is the safest way to implement it for intruders.
Trucks are valued higher
Not only cars are stolen for spare parts, but also trucks. According to insurers, they have become the most hijacked type of vehicle. It is more profitable to sell trucks and special equipment for spare parts than cars, since each part is very expensive, experts say. One wheel for a truck can cost under 100,000 rubles, Vladimir Matyagin, president of the Gruzavtotrans Association, told Izvestia.
— Besides the frame, if the frame has a number and the engine has a number, it will be difficult to understand where it comes from, whether it is stolen or not, — he noted.
Matyagin said that some companies, unable to pay for leasing cars, sell them for spare parts and claim theft. The leasing company receives insurance for the truck and has no claims against the carrier.
Some truck brands have a problem with spare parts, Igor Morzharetto notes.
— This is, first of all, the Big Seven of Europe. Some companies are forced to service these machines in Kazakhstan. In addition, our Chinese partners are not yet working in our usual spare parts supply algorithm, as was the case with European companies," the expert said.
"You and I are the culprits of such hijackings"
It is incorrect to see the reason for the situation with car thefts in the shortage of spare parts, says Jan Heitser.
"You and I are the culprits of such hijackings when we don't ask ourselves where this inexpensive spare part comes from, and even in its "fresh" form, and even the one that is often damaged in an accident," he noted. According to Haitser, "it is not written on the details that it is stolen," and it will be sold at the market price.
The expert also drew attention to the fact that the repair of CTP with used spare parts, the idea of which is promoted by insurers, can cause a sharp increase in the number of hijackings.
Why are spare parts becoming more expensive
Absolutely all spare parts have gone up in price, Tatiana Ovchinnikova, director of the international franchise network of Fit Service car services, told Izvestia.
— We analyze the indicator running parts and see a 15-25% price increase in March 2025 compared to March 2024 for common brands. There are some items for which there has been a reduction in prices, for example, for running parts for German car models. But on average, the growth for all brands of "consumables" was about 15%," she noted. According to Tatiana Ovchinnikova, it has become more difficult to buy body parts for most brands, with the exception of Lada. Therefore, prices for used spare parts from this group have increased significantly. Especially when compared with the price level of 2021-2022.
"There are no problems with consumables in the Chinese fleet, but slightly rarer spare parts still have to wait up to three months, although the overall situation has improved significantly,— Ovchinnikova said.
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