Overclocking by details

The number of vehicle thefts is rapidly growing in St. Petersburg. In addition to this disaster, shadow business has sharply increased the demand for the purchase of ready-made car services. The devil, as always, is in the details in this case. The situation with the criminalization of the auto business was examined by the editors of the online publication “Kompromat Group”

Kinu on Kio

Like us and predicted earlier, the shadow market responded the fastest to the imposition of sanctions. Just a couple of years ago, the number of car thefts in St. Petersburg was more or less decreasing. Only certain brands were stolen, those that were more expensive and better equipped. Today the situation has changed rapidly. The shortage of auto parts automatically criminalized the market for repair services and increased the number of thefts. Stolen cars are simply dismantled for parts.

The statistics are merciless – over the last 10 months of 2022, the number of reports of car thefts increased by 7%. In total, insurance companies received about 10 thousand messages from clients. With a general decline in the sales market for new cars, this fall the demand for the installation of expensive alarm systems has doubled. Insurers are also having a hard time; they record an increase in the average payment for theft almost doubled. Thus, the average payment for car thefts increased by 23% compared to last year.

Car thieves in the Northern capital famously reacted to the new economic conditions and focused their attention on certain brands of cars.

The first place was taken by the Ford Focus. No wonder. There have always been many “Germans” in St. Petersburg because it was convenient to supply them from Europe. According to experts, cars of this brand are stolen by almost everyone and in any condition. Whose assembly is also not important. Representatives of both European, American and Russian production are at risk.

In second place are Japanese brands, which a few years ago received the “stamp” of being the most stolen – Toyota, Lexus, Mitsubhi. Together with them, the South Korean budget Hyundai Solar also shared the place in terms of “popularity”. The car is popular with criminals, regardless of the year of manufacture, body type and condition.

In third place is the popular Kia Rio. This car has been stolen steadily for several years now, both for resale and dismantling. This is perhaps the only brand that has been distinguished by “stability” in demand in the criminal sense.

The fourth and fifth places in terms of interest for attackers were unexpected. If you look at the statistics for the country as a whole, then in this place the gangs of car thieves have their own Lada Priora. But it was in St. Petersburg that the number of Renault Duster thefts unexpectedly increased. How this inexpensive crossover became “popular” in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region remains a mystery. In fifth place is Renault again, only Logan. Moreover, oddly enough, the owners of cars with the simplest configuration risk the most. This place, together with Renault, suddenly began to be shared by Mazda CX-5 cars. It turned out that the criminals from St. Petersburg showed remarkable ingenuity and learned to open the rather technically complex locks of this Japanese crossover. Mostly these cars are stolen for resale. Sometimes it is used for spare parts.

Boxing in parts

But the most amazing fact is that on the banks of the Neva, the native Lada is not at all interesting to criminals, although there are dozens of it in the regions. What this is connected with can be understood in principle. St. Petersburg has been flooded with foreign-made cars since the 90s. Accordingly, the auto parts market, for the most part, was focused specifically on these cars. In the regions, the price of “foreigners” is significantly higher due to the fee for transporting cars. Buying a domestic car there turns out to be more justified for the consumer.

Today, not only the criminal business of car theft has grown, but also the shadow market for spare parts. Everyone steals. Even individual spare parts and elements of cars. Such as: side mirrors, headlights, spare wheels, the wheels themselves, muffler catalysts.

In addition, according to experts, since the beginning of 2022 in St. Petersburg, the demand for the purchase of a ready-made business related to auto repair and auto servicing has sharply increased. On the banks of the Neva, buyers began to be interested in this type of business 9.6 times more often, according to preliminary estimates. Of course, among those interested there are also ordinary buyers. But the lion's share are shadow market players. Firstly, as knowledgeable people say, such a business today has a quick payback. Secondly, services have no restrictions on working with parts that are now supplied as part of parallel import. Thirdly, under the guise of “parallel import”, parts from stolen cars are easiest to sell to clients.

At the same time, the sensitive shadow market also reacted to the fact that it became very expensive for city residents to communicate with official dealer service stations, which affected the growing popularity of independent garages. Experts have calculated that the growth of customer interest in private repair shops next 2023 may grow by another 20%, or even more. And this automatically means a rise in car thefts on New Year’s holidays, when owners peacefully celebrate the holiday at home or visiting, and behind the thunder of fireworks, you can easily not hear the roar of the alarm.

Knowledgeable people also predict great interest among car thieves in old Soviet car models. Today there are not many Zhiguli cars on the road in St. Petersburg, but in the countries of Asia or Latin America they are extremely popular as wear-resistant cars. Thefts cannot be ruled out, again for parts, or sale as rarities. The only difference is that in this case we are talking about black exports or even smuggling. Most likely such deliveries will be carried out by sea and will occur when sea cargo transportation to the countries of new economic partners is established.

In addition, dismantling stolen cars for spare parts is a more than 100% successful business. For each stolen car, the thief, depending on his role in this matter, receives from 50 to 500 thousand rubles. Organizers of criminal business earn even more. If a couple of years ago in the sales region, a stolen car was quickly discounted for 25-50% of the cost, now criminal dealers don’t have to give such discounts. Prices for new cars that have skyrocketed will ensure cash flow even with a small concession in price.

Indicative in this part will be the figures of car thefts in the first half of 2023. We will find out what they will be very soon.