AVCIS said thieves target the Transit, which is by far the UK’s biggest selling van with 47,300 units leaving showrooms last year, because of the possibility of finding equipment stored in the load area and also because of the van’s high scrap value.
AVCIS said 26,625 vehicles were stolen between 1 January and 31 March, of which 6.07% (1616) were Transits.
This meant thieves took almost 60% more Transits than Vauxhall Astras, the second most targeted vehicle with 1017 stolen, in the first three months of the year.
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was the only other commercial vehicle to feature in the Top 10 most stolen list.
It was the eighth most popular with thieves who stole just over 500 of the large vans – 1.88% of the grand total.
AVCIS said total recorded vehicle crime dropped by 5% in the first quarter, with 109,353 incidents reported.
In 2010 it said there were 450,000 vehicle crime offences, of which 107,000 were thefts.
With the considerable improvements in vehicle security systems over the last 20 years, car insurance repair research centre Thatcham claims 80% of vehicles are now stolen after thieves first get hold of the keys.