2011-15561. Preliminary Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.

ACTION:

Publication of preliminary theft data; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

This document requests comments on data about passenger motor vehicle thefts that occurred in calendar year (CY) 2009 including theft rates for existing passenger motor vehicle lines manufactured in model year (MY) 2009. The preliminary theft data indicate that the vehicle theft rate for CY/MY 2009 vehicles (1.33 thefts per thousand vehicles) decreased by 21.3 percent from the theft rate for CY/MY 2008 vehicles (1.69 thefts per thousand vehicles).

Publication of these data fulfills NHTSA's statutory obligation to periodically obtain accurate and timely theft data, and publish the information for review and comment.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before August 22, 2011.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. NHTSA-2011-0075 by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: [phone]

Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public Participation heading of the Supplementary Information section of this document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov,, including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78) or you may visit http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov,, or the street address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Deborah Mazyck, Office of International Policy, Fuel Economy and Consumer Programs, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Mazyck's telephone number is [phone]. Her fax number is [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NHTSA administers a program for reducing motor vehicle theft. The central feature of this program is the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard, 49 CFR part 541. The standard specifies performance requirements for inscribing or affixing vehicle identification numbers (VINs) onto certain major original equipment and replacement parts of high-theft lines of passenger motor vehicles.

The agency is required by 49 U.S.C. 33104(b)(4) to periodically obtain, from the most reliable source, accurate and timely theft data, and publish the data for review and comment. To fulfill the § 33104(b)(4) mandate, this document reports the preliminary theft data for CY 2009 the most recent calendar year for which data are available.

In calculating the 2009 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same procedures it has used since publication of the 1983/1984 theft rate data (50 FR 46669, November 12, 1985). The 2009 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 2009 vehicles of that line stolen during calendar year 2009 by the total number of vehicles in that line manufactured for MY 2009, as reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As in all previous reports, NHTSA's data were based on information provided to NHTSA by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The NCIC is a government system that receives vehicle theft information from approximately 23,000 criminal justice agencies and other law enforcement authorities throughout the United States. The NCIC data also include reported thefts of self-insured and uninsured vehicles, not all of which are reported to other data sources.

The preliminary 2009 theft data show a decrease in the vehicle theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2008 (For 2008 theft data, see 76 FR 2598, January 14, 2011). The preliminary theft rate for MY 2009 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2009 decreased to 1.33 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, a decrease of 21.3 percent from the rate of 1.69 thefts per thousand vehicles experienced by MY vehicles in CY 2008. For MY 2009 vehicles, out of a total of 238 vehicle lines, 10 lines had a theft rate higher than 3.5826 per thousand vehicles, the established median theft rate for MYs 1990/1991 (See 59 FR 12400, March 16, 1994). Of the 10 vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, 10 are passenger car lines, none are multipurpose passenger vehicle lines, and none are light-duty truck lines.

The agency believes that the theft rate reduction is a result of several factors, including vehicle parts marking; the increased use of standard antitheft devices and other advances in electronic technology (i.e., immobilizers) and theft prevention methods; increased and improved prosecution efforts by law enforcement organizations; and, increased public awareness which may have contributed to the overall reduction in vehicle thefts. The preliminary MY 2009 theft rate reduction is consistent with the general decreasing trend of theft rates over the past 17 years as indicated by Figure 1.

In Table I, NHTSA has tentatively ranked each of the MY 2009 vehicle lines in descending order of theft rate. Public comment is sought on the accuracy of the data, including the data for the production volumes of individual vehicle lines.

Comments must not exceed 15 pages in length (49 CFR Part 553.21). Attachments may be appended to these submissions without regard to the 15 page limit. This limitation is intended to encourage commenters to detail their primary arguments in a concise fashion.

If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and two copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been deleted should be submitted to Dockets. A request for confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth the information specified in the agency's confidential business information regulation. 49 CFR part 512.

All comments received before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated above for this document will be considered, and will be available for examination in the docket at the above address both before and after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed after the closing date will also be considered. Comments on this document will be available for inspection in the docket. NHTSA will continue to file relevant information as it becomes available for inspection in the docket after the closing date, and it is recommended that interested persons continue to examine the docket for new material.

Those persons desiring to be notified upon receipt of their comments in the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the comments, the docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail.

Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 33101, 33102 and 33104; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

Preliminary Report of Theft Rates for Model Year 2009 Passenger Motor Vehicles Stolen in Calendar Year 2009

	Manufacturer	Make/model (line)	Thefts 2009	Production (Mfr's) 2009	2009 Theft rate (per 1,000 vehicles produced)
1	AUDI	AUDI S8	2	227	8.8106
2	FORD MOTOR CO.	SHELBY GT	5	581	8.6059
3	BMW	M5	2	264	7.5758
4	CHRYSLER	DODGE CHARGER	432	66,856	6.4616
5	HONDA	S2000	2	357	5.6022
6	MITSUBISHI	GALANT	152	29,716	5.1151
7	CHRYSLER	300	143	31,287	4.5706
8	NISSAN	INFINITI M35/M45	27	6,243	4.3248
9	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC STS	31	7,239	4.2824
10	CHRYSLER	SEBRING CONVERTIBLE	18	4,827	3.7290
11	CHRYSLER	DODGE AVENGER	107	31,667	3.3789
12	CHRYSLER	SEBRING	65	19,588	3.3184
13	AUDI	AUDI A8	6	1,810	3.3149
14	VOLVO	V70	3	996	3.0120
15	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC G5	60	20,623	2.9094
16	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC G6	281	99,226	2.8319
17	CHRYSLER	DODGE CALIBER	125	44,554	2.8056
18	CHRYSLER	PT CRUISER	69	24,876	2.7738
19	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET IMPALA	499	183,769	2.7154
20	NISSAN	INFINITI FX35	35	13,375	2.6168
21	CHRYSLER	DODGE CHALLENGER	53	20,526	2.5821
22	NISSAN	PATHFINDER	13	5,076	2.5611
23	BMW	M6	1	397	2.5189
24	CHRYSLER	DODGE NITRO	26	10,539	2.4670
25	NISSAN	MAXIMA	141	58,278	2.4194
26	KIA	RONDO	42	17,573	2.3900
27	MAZDA	5	53	22,248	2.3822
28	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET MALIBU	413	176,813	2.3358
29	KIA	SPECTRA	135	60,296	2.2390
30	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET COBALT	312	141,588	2.2036
31	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN AURA	78	35,472	2.1989
32	MERCEDES-BENZ	S-CLASS	22	10,189	2.1592
33	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET HHR	172	80,781	2.1292
34	TOYOTA	SCION TC	57	27,179	2.0972
35	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XF	27	12,953	2.0845
36	MAZDA	3	99	47,569	2.0812
37	FORD MOTOR CO.	LINCOLN TOWN CAR	24	11,596	2.0697
38	TOYOTA	AVALON	45	22,030	2.0427
39	NISSAN	350Z	1	503	1.9881
40	VOLVO	C70	8	4,027	1.9866
41	MERCEDES-BENZ	CL-CLASS	10	5,105	1.9589
42	FORD MOTOR CO.	MUSTANG	81	41,354	1.9587
43	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC DTS	32	16,566	1.9317
44	MAZDA	6	76	39,504	1.9239
45	MITSUBISHI	ECLIPSE	24	12,760	1.8809
46	NISSAN	ALTIMA	410	228,101	1.7974
47	FORD MOTOR CO.	MERCURY SABLE	11	6,146	1.7898
48	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC CTS	91	50,926	1.7869
49	VOLVO	S60	12	6,837	1.7552
50	TOYOTA	CAMRY/SOLARA	781	447,882	1.7438
51	TOYOTA	COROLLA	632	363,515	1.7386
52	HYUNDAI	SONATA	270	159,775	1.6899
53	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER	22	13,022	1.6894
54	TOYOTA	4RUNNER	13	7,803	1.6660
55	BMW	6	4	2,420	1.6529
56	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET AVEO	94	58,439	1.6085
57	NISSAN	SENTRA	104	65,096	1.5976
58	FORD MOTOR CO.	FOCUS	235	148,244	1.5852
59	HYUNDAI	ACCENT	92	59,709	1.5408
60	NISSAN	VERSA	159	104,658	1.5192
61	MAZDA	B SERIES PICKUP	1	660	1.5152
62	CHRYSLER	DODGE JOURNEY	124	82,331	1.5061
63	KIA	RIO	61	41,036	1.4865
64	MERCEDES-BENZ	C-CLASS	86	57,872	1.4860
65	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET CORVETTE	23	15,647	1.4699
66	NISSAN	370Z	16	11,024	1.4514
67	NISSAN	XTERRA	19	13,106	1.4497
68	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XKR	1	696	1.4368
69	FORD MOTOR CO.	MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS	30	21,102	1.4217
70	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC TORRENT	13	9,403	1.3825
71	FORD MOTOR CO.	TAURUS	34	25,094	1.3549
72	CHRYSLER	JEEP COMPASS	14	10,346	1.3532
73	NISSAN	FRONTIER PICKUP	31	23,030	1.3461
74	VOLVO	S40	9	6,743	1.3347
75	AUDI	AUDI A3	5	3,761	1.3294
76	FORD MOTOR CO.	EDGE	58	44,744	1.2963
77	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK LACROSSE/ALLURE	24	18,532	1.2951
78	TOYOTA	YARIS	93	72,826	1.2770
79	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC ENVOY	7	5,661	1.2365
80	MASERATI	QUATTROPORTE	1	817	1.2240
81	KIA	OPTIMA	43	35,610	1.2075
82	NISSAN	GT-R	3	2,505	1.1976
83	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN VUE	47	39,342	1.1947
84	TOYOTA	LEXUS LS	11	9,418	1.1680
85	CHRYSLER	JEEP LIBERTY	36	31,272	1.1512
86	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK LUCERNE	36	31,751	1.1338
87	KIA	SEDONA VAN	21	18,684	1.1240
88	KIA	AMANTI	1	931	1.0741
89	TOYOTA	LEXUS IS	34	31,875	1.0667
90	TOYOTA	SCION XB	39	37,039	1.0529
91	FORD MOTOR CO.	FLEX	44	42,100	1.0451
92	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC VIBE	59	56,730	1.0400
93	MAZDA	RX-8	3	3,000	1.0000
94	VOLKSWAGEN	GOLF/RABBIT/GTI	19	19,005	0.9997
95	AUDI	AUDI R8	1	1,022	0.9785
96	KIA	SORENTO	12	12,435	0.9650
97	AUDI	AUDI S4/S5	3	3,112	0.9640
98	MITSUBISHI	LANCER	37	38,655	0.9572
99	TOYOTA	SIENNA VAN	61	63,797	0.9562
100	KIA	SPORTAGE	34	35,892	0.9473
101	HONDA	ACCORD	297	315,205	0.9422
102	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC G8	24	25,556	0.9391
103	HONDA	ACURA TSX	35	37,306	0.9382
104	FORD MOTOR CO.	FUSION	96	103,268	0.9296
105	TOYOTA	MATRIX	54	58,240	0.9272
106	SUZUKI	SX4	23	24,859	0.9252
107	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET EQUINOX	30	32,555	0.9215
108	MERCEDES-BENZ	E-CLASS	17	18,803	0.9041
109	MASERATI	GRANTURISMO	1	1,123	0.8905
110	NISSAN	MURANO	96	108,188	0.8873
111	CHRYSLER	JEEP WRANGLER	58	67,122	0.8641
112	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA/GLI	97	112,506	0.8622
113	NISSAN	QUEST VAN	7	8,232	0.8503
114	FORD MOTOR CO.	LINCOLN MKS	22	26,153	0.8412
115	NISSAN	INFINITI G37	42	50,524	0.8313
116	BMW	M3	3	3,642	0.8237
117	VOLVO	C30	3	3,693	0.8123
118	SUBARU	LEGACY	21	26,278	0.7991
119	SUBARU	IMPREZA	34	42,551	0.7990
120	HYUNDAI	ELANTRA	61	76,637	0.7960
121	MERCEDES-BENZ	SL-CLASS	6	7,559	0.7938
122	TOYOTA	TACOMA PICKUP	92	116,059	0.7927
123	HONDA	CIVIC	218	278,426	0.7830
124	HYUNDAI	GENESIS	15	19,504	0.7691
125	AUDI	AUDI Q5	5	6,531	0.7656
126	FORD MOTOR CO.	ESCAPE	113	148,860	0.7591
127	MERCEDES-BENZ	SLK-CLASS	3	3,987	0.7524
128	HYUNDAI	SANTA FE	57	77,857	0.7321
129	MAZDA	CX-9	10	14,024	0.7131
130	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET COLORADO PICKUP	20	28,286	0.7071
131	CHRYSLER	JEEP PATRIOT	23	32,611	0.7053
132	HONDA	ACURA RDX	6	8,690	0.6904
133	FORD MOTOR CO.	LINCOLN MKX	8	11,626	0.6881
134	PORSCHE	BOXSTER	1	1,460	0.6849
135	VOLVO	S80	5	7,409	0.6749
136	AUDI	AUDI TT	2	2,989	0.6691
137	NISSAN	INFINITI FX50	1	1,510	0.6623
138	TOYOTA	RAV4	79	119,381	0.6617
139	BMW	7	5	7,613	0.6568
140	TOYOTA	LEXUS RX	42	64,266	0.6535
141	NISSAN	ROGUE	47	73,877	0.6362
142	VOLKSWAGEN	TIGUAN	12	19,076	0.6291
143	PORSCHE	CAYMAN	1	1,591	0.6285
144	TOYOTA	FJ CRUISER	2	3,185	0.6279
145	MAZDA	CX-7	8	12,906	0.6199
146	SUZUKI	VITARA/GRAND VITARA	4	6,476	0.6177
147	AUDI	AUDI A4/A5	27	44,950	0.6007
148	HONDA	ACURA 3.2 TL	20	33,690	0.5936
149	TOYOTA	HIGHLANDER	33	57,166	0.5773
150	FORD MOTOR CO.	TAURUS X	3	5,209	0.5759
151	TOYOTA	SCION XD	10	17,587	0.5686
152	MERCEDES-BENZ	SMART FORTWO	8	14,169	0.5646
153	TOYOTA	LEXUS GS	3	5,537	0.5418
154	VOLKSWAGEN	EOS	5	9,560	0.5230
155	BMW	3	44	84,350	0.5216
156	VOLKSWAGEN	PASSAT	16	31,310	0.5110
157	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN SKY	2	4,078	0.4904
158	FORD MOTOR CO.	LINCOLN MKZ	8	16,676	0.4797
159	AUDI	AUDI A6	2	4,193	0.4770
160	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC SOLSTICE	2	4,202	0.4760
161	HONDA	PILOT	40	84,089	0.4757
162	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC CANYON PICKUP	4	8,614	0.4644
163	HONDA	ACURA MDX	16	34,540	0.4632
164	HYUNDAI	TUCSON	5	11,032	0.4532
165	VOLKSWAGEN	NEW BEETLE	8	18,284	0.4375
166	MAZDA	TRIBUTE	2	4,670	0.4283
167	BMW	5	9	21,963	0.4098
168	HONDA	ODYSSEY VAN	30	73,777	0.4066
169	BMW	1	4	10,189	0.3926
170	FORD MOTOR CO.	RANGER PICKUP	19	49,466	0.3841
171	SUBARU	FORESTER	34	88,771	0.3830
172	PORSCHE	911	3	7,929	0.3784
173	FORD MOTOR CO.	MERCURY MILAN	7	18,556	0.3772
174	HONDA	ACURA 3.5 RL	1	2,670	0.3745
175	BMW	X3	2	5,448	0.3671
176	HONDA	ELEMENT	4	11,114	0.3599
177	MITSUBISHI	OUTLANDER	4	11,904	0.3360
178	TOYOTA	PRIUS	27	82,659	0.3266
179	TOYOTA	LEXUS ES	13	42,833	0.3035
180	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	LAND ROVER LR2	1	3,443	0.2904
181	BMW	Z4/M	1	3,637	0.2750
182	TOYOTA	VENZA	15	58,897	0.2547
183	HONDA	FIT	21	83,765	0.2507
184	SUBARU	OUTBACK	9	36,410	0.2472
185	HONDA	CR-V	40	171,943	0.2326
186	FORD MOTOR CO.	CROWN VICTORIA	8	36,101	0.2216
187	SAAB	9-3	1	4,593	0.2177
188	NISSAN	CUBE	6	28,243	0.2124
189	KIA	BORREGO	3	14714	0.2039
190	MERCEDES-BENZ	CLK-CLASS	3	15,654	0.1916
191	SUBARU	B9 TRIBECA	1	6,806	0.1469
192	BMW	MINI COOPER	6	51,935	0.1155
193	FORD MOTOR CO.	MERCURY MARINER	2	25,682	0.0779
194	ASTON MARTIN	DB9	0	741	0.0000
195	ASTON MARTIN	VANTAGE	0	582	0.0000
196	AUDI	AUDI S6	0	100	0.0000
197	BENTLEY MOTORS	ARNAGE	0	86	0.0000
198	BENTLEY MOTORS	AZURE	0	66	0.0000
199	BENTLEY MOTORS	BROOKLANDS	0	94	0.0000
200	BENTLEY MOTORS	CONTINENTAL	0	930	0.0000
201	CHRYSLER	DODGE VIPER	0	575	0.0000
202	FERRARI	141	0	109	0.0000
203	FERRARI	430	0	605	0.0000
204	FERRARI	612 SCAGLIETTI	0	29	0.0000
205	FERRARI	CALIFORNIA	0	53	0.0000
206	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC FUNERAL COACH/HEARSE	0	714	0.0000
207	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC LIMOUSINE	0	330	0.0000
208	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC XLR	0	858	0.0000
209	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC G3	0	6,237	0.0000
210	GENERAL MOTORS	SATURN ASTRA	0	851	0.0000
211	HYUNDAI	AZERA	0	5,062	0.0000
212	HYUNDAI	VERACRUZ	0	2,188	0.0000
213	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	VANDEN PLAS/SUPER V8	0	326	0.0000
214	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XJ8/XJ8L	0	358	0.0000
215	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XJR	0	11	0.0000
216	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XK	0	903	0.0000
217	LAMBORGHINI	GALLARDO	0	281	0.0000
218	LAMBORGHINI	MURCIELAGO	0	110	0.0000
219	LOTUS	ELISE	0	120	0.0000
220	LOTUS	EXIGE	0	27	0.0000
221	MAZDA	MX-5 MIATA	0	4,293	0.0000
222	MERCEDES-BENZ	MAYBACH 57	0	27	0.0000
223	MERCEDES-BENZ	MAYBACH 62	0	18	0.0000
224	MERCEDES-BENZ	MAYBACH LANDAULET	0	2	0.0000
225	MERCEDES-BENZ	SLR-CLASS	0	69	0.0000
226	MITSUBISHI	ENDEAVOR	0	50	0.0000
227	NISSAN	INFINITI EX35	0	2,169	0.0000
228	ROLLS ROYCE	PHANTOM	0	409	0.0000
229	ROUSH PERFORMANCE	RPP MUSTANG	0	395	0.0000
230	SAAB	9-5	0	732	0.0000
231	SPYKER	C8	0	18	0.0000
232	SUZUKI	EQUATOR PICKUP	0	2,380	0.0000
233	SUZUKI	XL7	0	1,290	0.0000
234	TESLA	ROADSTER	0	900	0.0000
235	TOYOTA	LEXUS SC	0	511	0.0000
236	VOLVO	V50	0	1,913	0.0000
237	VOLVO	XC70	0	4,614	0.0000
238	VOLVO	XC90	0	6,806	0.000

Issued on: June 15, 2011.

Christopher J. Bonanti,

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.