Vehicle tracking company Tracker has released its Vehicle Crime Index for January to June 2025. The study reveals that business-owned vehicles are 48% more likely to be targeted than personally-owned vehicles. Business-owned vehicles range from cargo trucks with trailers to courier vehicles delivering items ordered online.
Hijackings are the trending modus operandi, and occur at nearly double the rate of thefts, said Tracker. Shifts in both timing and location are being noticed. Mpumalanga has emerged as a new crime hotspot but Gauteng leads with a 57% share of the incidents. Crimes are also increasingly occurring during the week rather than over weekends.
The study aggregates information from Tracker’s more than 1.1-million subscribers. The data indicates that business-owned vehicles experience 32% more crime than their proportion within the Tracker base.
Regionally, this trend becomes even more pronounced. In the Western Cape, business vehicle hijackings are five times more likely than theft; in the Eastern Cape, four times more likely; and in Mpumalanga, three times more likely.
For personal vehicles, the national split between hijacking and theft is equal. However, in the Eastern Cape, hijackings are five times more likely than theft, and twice as likely in Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
Most vehicle crime was previously reported over weekends, but hijackings are now mainly reported on Thursdays between 4pm and 9pm. Theft continues to be most commonly reported on Saturdays between 11am and 4pm.
Regionally, the most prominent day and time for hijackings varies: Gauteng shows a tendency toward Tuesdays between 11am and 4pm; KwaZulu-Natal, Wednesdays from 4pm to 9pm; and the Western Cape Wednesdays from 6am to 11am.
The company says it has recovered 3,671 vehicles, assisted in 146 arrests and helped recover 10 firearms during the first half of 2025.
“Crime trends change over time, and the shifting pattern of hijackings shows that they can happen anytime, anywhere, making it essential to remain alert to your surroundings,” says Duma Ngcobo, COO at Tracker.
“Businesses, in particular, can take proactive steps to mitigate risk by implementing technologies such as AI-powered fleet dashcams with facial recognition, 360-degree cameras, safe zone management, cargo door sensors, and emergency driver assist buttons. These tools enable fleet managers to respond swiftly to incidents.
“Additionally, subscribing drivers to rapid emergency armed response services can further enhance safety,” he said.
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