Mustang Coupe

Make
Ford
Segment
Coupe

With the global economy in the doldrums and local car prices in the stratosphere, motor vehicle thefts are going through the roof, and it's not just entry-level cars being stolen; thieves are targeting the good stuff too. Another worrying trend in the past year is thefts from dealerships and even manufacturing plants. The latest crime spree targeted the Chrysler Warren Truck Assembly Plant on Mound and 8 Mile and Ford's Flat Rock assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan. Several high-end cars were stolen, including a slew of Ford Mustangs and a couple of Jeep Wagoneers. Clearly, on-site security is not up to scratch.

According to Fox 2 Detroit, the thefts occurred on Tuesday morning around 5:30 AM. The brazen thieves reportedly rammed the gates of the Stellantis plant to gain access to a number of Jeep Wagoneer vehicles parked in a secure lot. The criminals made off with at least two Wagoneers, and after a short search, two of the cars were recovered and loaded onto police flatbeds. In a video posted to Twitter by Fox 2 reporter Charlie Langton, one can see heavy police presence outside where the two Jeep Wagoneers were recovered. Around the block, more police presence is visible at the badly damaged gate that leads to the parking lot where the cars were stolen.

During this time, car thieves also targeted Ford's Flat Rock assembly plant, where they made off with at least a dozen Ford Mustang vehicles. Details on this incident aren't as clear, but we know that two cars were recovered soon after the thieves made off with the other vehicles.

Ford facilities have been a prime target of car thieves in past months; in July, we reported that criminals are targeting the Ford F-150, and other popular models such as the F-150 and Ford Super Duty rank in the top two spots on the National Insurance Crime Bureau's (NICB) list of most stolen vehicles.

When asked for comment on the matter, Ford simply responded that it was working with local police. No details on suspects have been released at this time. Multiple states have recorded an increase in vehicle thefts in 2022, with states like Washington showing a dramatic 88% increase in thefts. The NICB has stated that nationwide car thefts were up 16.5% in 2021 compared to 2019 figures, and while we wait for this year's figures to come out early next year, we're not expecting to see good numbers, especially given the slew of Kia and Hyundai thefts that have been occurring of late.