Vehicle Crime Risk Declines Sharply Over Three Decades, Though Business Fleets Remain Primary Target

Vehicle crime risk in South Africa has fallen dramatically over the past 30 years, with customer incident rates dropping from around 4% in the late 1990s to just 0.5% in recent years, according to Tracker’s 30-year anniversary review.

The national data highlights significant long-term progress across the country, driven by advanced tracking technology, telematics, and widespread insurer fitment incentives. Crucially for regional trade, 80% of all national vehicle crime remains heavily concentrated outside the region in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

Despite the overall downward trend in vehicle crime, commercial operations face distinct operational risks. Business-owned vehicles remain 17% more likely to be targeted nationwide than personal vehicles, with incidents heavily skewed toward hijacking. Nationally, business vehicles are nearly twice as likely to be hijacked as stolen, with incidents peaking on weekday afternoons and evenings between 4pm and 9pm.

Tracker Chief Operating Officer Duma Ngcobo emphasises that addressing these risks is essential for commercial fleet management, as downtime, cargo loss, and supply chain disruptions often outweigh the physical cost of the vehicle. Understanding national risk windows enables enterprises to strengthen driver safety, optimise fleet dispatch times, and maintain supply chain resilience across South African business networks.