WeeklySA_AdminKEYLESS CAR CRIME: Lately more vehicle thefts are committed by criminals who illegally access cars by replicating and/or manipulating the signals emitted from the vehicle’s keyfob
By Ali Mphaki
Spare a thought for my friend Lehlohonolo. He had gone to visit his ailing brother at a hospital south of Johannesburg the other day, but was nearly admitted out of a combination of shock and his fickle blood pressure shooting up.
Hloni, as we call him, was not so lucky to see the apple-of-his-eye white Toyota Hilux double-cab vanish before his sight. Stunned and helpless, he remembers quite vividly that he had locked his vehicle.
“How could i not lock when especially since it had valuables like a laptop, projector camera, some groceries, wifey shoes from the cobbler, my ID and passport, as well as my .38 gun,” he protests vehemently when probed if he truly remembered to lock the vehicle.
He tells us after spending an hour or so with his ailing brother and as he was walking towards his car in the parking lot, for a moment he thought his eyes were deceiving him; His Toyota Hilux was speeding out of the parking lot followed by an equally speeding sedan before crashing through the hospital entry barriers leaving the security personnel at the gates and onlookers shocked and numb as both cars made their dramatic way into the unknown.
With his carfob key in his hand he had tried to run after the vehicle. but quickly perished the thought as a futile exercise. The matter was now beyond him. It was now up to his tracker company (if premiums were up-to-date) and for the police to help locate his stolen vehicle.
Shockingly Hloni is not alone in this damning predicament. With more and more latest cars offered with keyless entry tech, criminals have also adjusted their methods to be in sync with the development.
They can access your car by replicating and/or manipulating the signals emitted from the vehicle’s keyfob. As if it were not enough, they also use relay attacks and signal jamming or cloning are other methods used to gain access to cars.
Not particularly because of these latest criminal gimmicks, but stats will show between October and December 2024, 7,791 instances of theft of motor vehicle/motorcycle were reported to police stations around the country. This works out to an average of 85 vehicles that were stolen in the country per day during the third quarter of the 2024/25 period.
The provinces in which the most instances of car theft were reported being Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and Western Cape.
If you thought car theft was only a South African phenomenon, it will surprise you that this kind of crime is also increasingly common in the U.S. In 2023, 1,020,729 vehicles were stolen, compared to 1,008,756 in 2022 and 794,019 in 2019, according to the NICB. That’s an increase of 28.5 percent in just four years.
Interestingly in 2022, 45 percent of auto theft victims in the US were between the ages of 20 and 39.
According to the most recent vehicle theft statistics available from the ONS, there were almost 1.6 million vehicles reported stolen in 2023 across England and Wales. This represented a rise of 3.9% from 2022, yet a 13.6% decrease from 2018. With fluctuating figures, it’s clear that having a vehicle stolen is not going away any time soon.
Whilst experts say there is no theft-proof method, more disturbing is that legislation stipulates the usage of the signal jammers may be illegal, not necessarily the ownership of this sort of tech.
Experts say multiple theft protection is your only real weapon in this area.
Here’s a look at some old and new protection methods;
# One way to protect your vehicle is to use good old anti-theft devices, such as wheel locks or steering wheel locks. While there are ways to counter them, it will significantly slow down the thieves’ work and give you a chance to catch them in the act.
# To work against remote control hacking is to disable the signal from your key when it’s not in use, which can be done manually or via an automatic sleep function in your car. You can also place it in an aluminum-lined case to prevent waves from passing through.
# To avoid the relay attack, keep your key in a metal box or anti-relay case that prevents signals from escaping.
# Alarm systems are essential to deter thieves. Make sure your vehicle is equipped with an alarm system that will alert the entire neighborhood in case of an attempt, as well as additional locking.
# A GPS tracker is particularly useful in this case. If your car is towed, it can help you quickly locate your vehicle and alert authorities before it’s too late.
Motoring: Briefs
AND THE WINNER IS….
Following two rigorous testing days in March, the country’s most respected motoring journalists have spoken, crowning the BMW X3 as the 2025 South African Car of the Year. This marks a successive victory for the German manufacturer, with the G70 generation 7 Series winning the 2024 title. BMW holds the record for the manufacturer with the most number of SA Car of the Year titles, with honours dating back to 1988 when the 735i won the competition. This is the first time the X3 nameplate has been awarded the title.
Locally produced at the company’s Rosslyn, Tshwane facility, the latest X3 is a beacon of the local industry’s capabilities and exceptional manufacturing standards. The German sport-utility vehicle edged ahead in the scoring thanks to its high refinement levels, innovative design, high level of digitisation and relative value for money.
JEEP FINDS ITS COMPASS
Jeep has revealed European versions of the 2026 Jeep Compass, with a strong focus on electrification in line with the brand’s growth in that area.
The new Compass will be introduced with a choice of three powertrains, including a 108kW mild-hybrid, 195kW plug-in hybrid, and fully electric versions. The Compass EV will be available with three outputs, starting with a 159kW single-motor front wheel drive version and topping out with a 280kW dual-motor all-wheel drive model.
Jeep has not yet disclosed full powertrain specifications, but the line-up is expected to follow that of the related Citroen C5 Aircross, with a 1.2-litre three-cylinder mild-hybrid, and 1.6-litre four-cylinder plug-in hybrid with six- and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, respectively. Volkswagen has been developing robotaxi software and hardware for years, but until recently most of its testing efforts had been confined to Germany.
VW ROBOTAXI
This will change next year when VW and Uber will begin the rollout of robotaxi fleets in the US, stocked with the autonomous ID. Buzz AD. And the first city where the two companies plan to launch operations will be Los Angeles. But before the LA launch in 2026, Uber and VW will begin testing the ID. Buzz AD stateside later this year.
The autonomous version of the ID. Buzz has already seen plenty of testing with MOIA, Volkswagen’s European mobility service and app, which will launch driverless operations in Hamburg, Germany, in the near future, though the US rollout of Volkswagen’s Level 4 tech will happen through Uber.
“Through our work with Uber, we’ll introduce the ID. Buzz, the reimagined version of the iconic Microbus in all-electric form, to a growing number of riders in the years to come,” said Kjell Gruner, president and CEO, Volkswagen Group of America.
JEEP CHEROKEE GOES ARMO
SVI has partnered with Stellatis South Africa to provide customers with a B4+ Armoured Jeep Cherokee that keeps the manufacturer’s 5-year/100,000 km warranty intact.
SVI’s bespoke armour package for the five-seater version of the Grand Cherokee offers B4+ protection, meaning it is rated to withstand attacks from handguns and the ubiquitous AK-47 assault rifle.
The ballistic package is completely concealed and therefore virtually imperceptible to the untrained eye.
SVI’s Jeep-supported B4+ armouring solution for the Grand Cherokee five-seater starts at R1 236 814.00. The Bashewa-based armouring specialist also offers a standard B4 discreet package for the Grand Cherokee, including the 7-seater “L” model, which provides protection against handguns up to .44 Magnum. Pricing starts at R833 684.
