77 cars are stolen in South Africa every day – these are the worst areas

Roughly 77 cars are stolen in South Africa every day, with most cases occurring in just two provinces.

This is according to the South Africa Police Service’s crime statistics for the fourth and final quarter of the 2025/2026 period, which recorded 6,945 cases of “theft of motor vehicles and motorcycles.”

These incidents were reported over a 90-day period between January and March 2026, working out to an average of 77 vehicles per day.

While car theft remains a major problem nationwide, the data from the SAPS shows that the number of reported incidents declined by 10.2% year-on-year.

The total number of vehicle thefts recorded between January and March 2025 was 7,731, meaning there was a decrease of 786 cases over the last year.

Carjackings were also down 20.4%, dropping from 4,533 to 3,609 incidents, and “theft out of or from motor vehicle” cases dropped 7.2% from 19,032 to 17,664.

At the provincial level, Gauteng stands out with more car theft cases than most of the other provinces combined.

Gauteng recorded 3,675 stolen vehicles, while the second-worst province, KwaZulu-Natal, recorded 1,279. These provinces were the only two with four-figure theft stats, though the Western Cape was admittedly not far behind with 920.

These were the statistics for each province:

1. Gauteng – 3,675
2. KwaZulu-Natal – 1,279
3. Western Cape – 920
4. North West – 295
5. Mpumalanga – 258
6. Eastern Cape – 220
7. Limpopo – 126
8. Free State – 147
9. Northern Cape – 25

The Northern Cape’s low stats are to be expected, given that it is the most sparsely populated province, while Gauteng, KZN, and the Western Cape have the largest populations.

As for the individual areas, these were the top 30 police stations that recorded motor vehicle thefts nationwide between January and March 2026:

1. Brooklyn, Gauteng – 152
2. Krugersdorp, Gauteng – 115
3. Chatsworth, KZN – 107
4. Honeydew, Gauteng – 104
5. Garsfontein, Gauteng – 93
6. Roodepoort, Gauteng – 92
7. Florida, Gauteng – 88
8. Phoenix, KZN – 80
9. Durban Central, KZN – 71
10. Sinoville, Gauteng – 70
11. Pinetown, KZN- 70
12. Verulam, KZN – 69
13. Ivory Park, Gauteng – 67
14. Berea, KZN – 67
15. Boksburg North, Gauteng – 67
16. Springs, Gauteng – 65
17. Benoni, Gauteng – 64
18. Rustenburg, North West – 63
19. Johannesburg Central, Gauteng – 62
20. Linden, Gauteng – 61
21. Cosmo City, Gauteng – 61
22. Randfontein, Gauteng – 60
23. Lyttelton, Gauteng – 60
24. Kempton Park, Gauteng – 57
25. Wierdaburg, Gauteng – 55
26. Booysens, Gauteng – 55
27. Pretoria North, Gauteng – 53
28. Sydenham, KZN – 50
29. Sandton, Gauteng – 48
30. Vereeniging, Gauteng – 47

The entire list comprises locations in Gauteng and KZN, illustrating the severity of the issue in these two provinces.

These were the top three police stations for car thefts per province:

1. Gauteng Police Stations

1. Brooklyn – 152 thefts
2. Krugersdorp – 115 thefts
3. Honeydew – 104 thefts

2. KwaZulu-Natal Police Stations

1. Chatsworth – 107 thefts
2. Phoenix – 80 thefts
3. Durban Central – 71 thefts

3. Western Cape Police Stations

1. Woodstock – 44 thefts
2. Cape Town Central – 38 thefts
3. Claremont – 37 thefts

4. North West Police Stations

1. Rustenburg – 63 thefts
2. Hartbeespoortdam – 30 thefts
3. Brits – 24 thefts

5. Mpumalanga Police Stations

1. Witbank – 41 thefts
2. Vosman – 23 thefts
3. Nelspruit – 17 thefts

6. Eastern Cape Police Stations

1. Kabega Park – 16 thefts
2. Kugompo – 11 thefts
3. Mthatha – 11 thefts

7. Limpopo Police Stations

1. Polokwane – 16 thefts
2. Seshego – 14 thefts
3. Northam – 7 thefts

8. Free State Police Stations

1. Welkom – 4 thefts
2. Park Road – 4 thefts
3. Sasolburg – 3 thefts

9. Northern Cape Police Stations

1. Galeshewe – 3 thefts
2. Kagisho – 3 thefts
3. Kimberley – 3 thefts