Campervans are new target for thefts in France
Hybrid SUVs were also among the vehicles more at risk, a new study shows
Campervans are increasingly being targeted by organised thieves in France
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Thefts of campervans and hybrid SUVs are helping to push insurance costs to €600 million per year in France, with these vehicles increasingly becoming major targets for thieves, a new study has found.
Although thefts of vehicles overall dropped by 9% to 125,200 cases across France in 2025 statistics from the Interior Ministry show, there was still a theft once every four minutes. The country’s rate of vehicle theft is still ahead of Italy and the UK, found the new study by French vehicle recovery tech company Coyote Secure.
Campervans, utilitarian vehicles, and SUV hybrids are among those at increased risk of theft.
Campervans worth on average between €60,000-120,000 are at particular risk, the report said, with thefts of these up 30% in one year.
Campervans (camping cars in French) remain popular in France, with sales of the holiday vehicles having risen considerably in the past 25 years (and within the past five years especially), with the market estimated to be worth €1.5 billion in 2024, as people seek slower-paced holidays and interest in vintage vehicles grows.
Other vehicles at risk
Similarly, the report warned that:
Commercial utility vehicles: Accounted for 11% of thefts in 2025, up from 8% in 2024
Hybrid SUVs: The most commonly stolen vehicle, accounting for 45% of thefts in 2025.
People in France are “poorly informed about car theft”, said Stéphane Curtelin, marketing and product director at Coyote, adding that two-thirds of drivers say that they do not know if their car insurance company would compensate them in the event of a theft (rather than an accident).
Regional risk
Certain regions present a higher risk for vehicle theft, including:
Similarly, the Grand-Est region has seen a 20% increase in thefts over one year, thought due to its proximity to international borders (including to Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany), which facilitates the sale of vehicles outside of the country.
“France remains an important hub for international [crime] organisations,” said Mr Curtelin.
Of the vehicles stolen in France and recovered with the help of a tracker, more than 50% were found in Belgium, followed by Germany (20%), Spain (10%) and the Netherlands (5%), Coyote said.
Mr Curtelin gave the example of a Peugeot 3008, which was stolen in France and later found in the Netherlands, after having passed through an illegal workshop in Belgium to disguise it and dismantle parts of it, before it was put on the market to be resold.
The rise of theft by electronic methods (e.g. by hacking a car’s lock or engine computer, rather than by smashing a window) means that many stolen vehicles are now recovered with little to no damage.
Insurance drain
Vehicle theft accounts for insurance costs of €600 million per year, Coyote found, with national insurance body France Assureurs estimating that the cost per theft claim has doubled in the past decade.
Car insurance premiums have risen by an average of 5% overall as a result, the study found. Claims for vehicle theft are “twice as high” as those for the average accident claim, it said.
