With vehicle thefts constantly increasing in recent years - more than 47,000 motor vehicles stolen in France in 2024 according to the latest Argos barometer -, nothing seems to stop the criminals. Cyclists are not spared either: there are nearly 400,000 bicycle thefts each year, with a recovery rate of only 5%.
But how to overcome it? Invoxia asked the question and conducted a survey for you with more than 7,000 people in France. And here are the best tips that emerged to help you protect your vehicle from theft and find it if it ever happens!
Tip #1: Equipping yourself with a GPS tracker is a must! #
Whether for cars, motorized two-wheelers, or bicycles, respondents equipped with at least one GPS tracker tend to have their vehicles stolen less often. Indeed, nearly 70% of them have never had to report a theft! Part of the explanation is clear: the anti-theft alert from Invoxia GPS trackers allows you to act immediately and catch the thief in the act. Then they have only one solution: to flee.
But that’s not all: equipping yourself with a GPS tracker greatly increases your chances of recovering your stolen vehicle.
| Average recovery rate | Recovery rate with a GPS tracker | |
|---|---|---|
| Car | 45% | 77% |
| Two-wheelers | 25% | 77% |
| Bicycle | 5% | 50% |
For bicycles, this figure even rises to 85% when the theft is reported, which less than 7 out of 10 people do!
Tip #2: Be careful, even at home #
Our study revealed that a large portion of vehicle thefts occur in private places. Whether at your home, at your relatives’, or at your workplace, for example, the risk remains present!
For bicycles, this is the case for almost 50% of thefts, and more than 30% for cars. Motorcycle and scooter thefts occur 35% directly at the person’s home.
Our advice? Do not let your guard down, even if you think your vehicle is safe at home!
Tip #3: Multiply your means of protection #
One of the elements that emerged from your responses is: users do not protect themselves enough against theft. Without even talking about advanced protections, which can sometimes be expensive, the majority of people tell us that they equip themselves with the minimum protection - and that’s when they equip themselves at all!
On the contrary, people who tell us they use multiple anti-theft protections and/or GPS are much better off. Visible protections indeed deter thieves: the more there are, the less likely they are to try their luck. But more discreet protections can also help. Whether they alert you, slow down the thieves’ work, or help you recover your vehicle if they manage to make it disappear, they are true allies of your protection.
Tip #4: Your bicycles are vulnerable during the day, your motor vehicles at night #
Depending on your vehicle, you will need to be more careful at certain times of the day or night.
For bicycles, 50% of you indicated having been stolen between 10 am and 6 pm. This seems rather logical: thieves wait for the owners to be at work to act discreetly. It is therefore important to maximize your protections at that time.
For two-wheelers, thefts are more spread over the 24 hours that make up a day. Nevertheless, the time slot between 11 pm and 6 am seems to be the most appreciated by thieves: 46% of thefts are committed during this period.
For cars, the trend is clearer: 63% of thefts occur between 11 pm and 6 am, in the darkness of the night. Indeed, this type of vehicle is larger and more difficult to steal, so it requires more discretion to act.
Tip #5: You are more at risk at certain times of the year #
Whether for cars, two-wheelers, or bicycles, a clear trend emerges from your responses: the months of May and June are the most active in terms of theft. Probably due to the many holidays and the arrival of good weather, which invites relaxation … and carelessness?
Tip #6: Always report the theft of your vehicle! #
While it seems logical for car and two-wheeler owners - you report the theft of your vehicle 98% of the time -, this is not the case for cyclists. Indeed, only 68% of you report the theft of your bicycle to the police. The most cited reasons are the age of the bike, lack of confidence in the authorities to find it, the low time-lost-to-chance-of-recovery ratio, or the low value of the bike.
And yet, if you have a GPS tracker and report it, you increase your chances of finding it not by 10, but by 17!
Bonus tip for Invoxia users: activate the Theft File #
In case of theft of your vehicle, your Invoxia GPS tracker is equipped with a very practical recovery aid feature: the Theft File. Available on all our models, this PDF file to download directly from your app summarizes all the information about your vehicle and the authorities have access, via a QR code, to the direct location of your tracker! Thus, no need to stay at the police station or share your access codes with them. Convenient, right?