Jaguar Land Rover claims a GBP10m investment in vehicle security is paying off and reflected in low theft rates with “only 0.07% of new Range Rover and new Range Rover Sports and 0.3% of new Defenders being stolen”.
Vehicles built from 2018 have benefited from the investment which resulted in a series of enhanced security updates.
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Land Rover was named earlier this year as topping the list of most stolen vehicles in Britain. Data indicated Land Rovers were three times more likely to be stolen than the second most popular target for thieves, Mercedes-Benz. Earlier this month, JLR was reported to be contacting thousands of customers in order to upgrade their cars with improved security, in a bid to stem the epidemic of Range Rover thefts which are mostly achieved by thieves ‘hacking’ into electronic systems in the cars.
Today, JLR said in a statement updates had already been rolled out in the UK to more than 65,000 vehicles, reducing thefts of Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models built from 2018 to 2022 by “more than 40%”.
Eligible owners already contacted were being urged to take up their complimentary security upgrade.
The automaker said vehicles manufactured from 2022 onwards are built on its most advanced electrical architecture, meaning they have the latest security features and are proving resilient to theft.
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By GlobalDataThe latest security and technology can also be deployed to previous generation vehicles, including those out of warranty, ensuring they are updated with the same levels of protection as current models: since 2022, over 65,000 eligible vehicles from 2018 models onwards have so far received security updates via their retailer.
Patrick McGillycuddy, managing director, JLR UK, said: “While vehicle theft in the UK is affecting the whole car industry, we understand the negative impact this can have on the ownership experience for our clients. Our investment of more than GBP10m demonstrates our ongoing commitment to tackling this issue.
“Through our long-standing collaboration with law enforcement and key partners, our expert team will continue to develop and deploy effective anti-theft measures to ensure clients are protected. It is my personal priority.”
The investment includes updates to the body control module (BCM) which prevents thieves driving away a vehicle without a key. Criminals have previously hacked the keyless entry system enabling them to start the engine but updates contain embedded technology to prevent this.
In 2018, JLR pioneered the development of ultra wide band (UWB) protection to counter the ‘relay attack’, where criminals intercept signals between the vehicle and key to unlock the car. Vehicles are not vulnerable to that method when equipped with this technology, which also mitigates the requirement to store keys in a faraday pouch.
The automaker recommends owners use every available measure to protect their vehicle, including remote apps which can access security features, such as vehicle lock reminders and ‘guardian mode’ which monitors the vehicle and provides an alert if there is any unauthorised interaction.
Richard Billyeald, chief technical officer at Thatcham Research, said: “We continue to work closely with JLR, including benchmarking of their recently implemented theft countermeasures as examples of security best practice. We are hopeful these measures will limit further theft exposure.”
