Tool theft from vans hits record high, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles finds

Date: Friday, September 30, 2022 | Author: Sean Keywood

The last 12 months has seen a major increase in thefts of tools from vans, according to a study by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

It found that more than a third of van drivers had fallen victim – up from a quarter the year before.

According to VW, with the average value of equipment stored per van standing at £2,500, UK tradespeople are facing a £4.4billion bill for replacements every year.

In addition, with each theft stopping work for six days on average, VW says there is a £5.2billion annual cost in lost business.

The research, which surveyed 1,000 UK van drivers, found that the rate of tool thefts in London, the UK’s hotspot, had fallen since last year, from 55% to 47%. However, rates in Scotland (45%), the North West (41%), and the North East (40%) saw big increases.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles head of direct sales David Hanna said: “Tool theft continues to be a huge problem and it’s worrying to see the problem spreading across the country. We’re shocked to see that cases have risen so much in the past year, as we know the impact on businesses and workers is massive.

“Hopefully, these findings will prompt those with expensive equipment to take extra precautions, whether that’s additional security features on their vans, avoiding parking in secluded, poorly-lit areas, or taking an extra 15 minutes at the end of the day to unload their vans.”

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