2013-16428. 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) 2011, including theft rates for existing passenger motor vehicle lines manufactured in model year (MY) 2011. The preliminary theft data indicate that the vehicle theft rate for CY/MY 2011 vehicles (0.10 thefts per thousand vehicles) significantly decreased by 91.45 percent from the theft rate for CY/MY 2010 vehicles (1.17 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 September 9, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0073 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 section 33104(b)(4) mandate, this document reports the preliminary theft data for CY 2010 the most recent calendar year for which data are available.

In calculating the 2011 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 2011 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 2011 vehicles of that line stolen during calendar year 2011 by the total number of vehicles in that line manufactured for MY 2011, 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 2011 theft data show a significant decrease in the vehicle theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2010 (For 2010 theft data, see 77 FR 58500, September 21, 2012). The preliminary theft rate for MY 2011 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2011 decreased to 0.10 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, a decrease of 91.45 percent from the rate of 1.17 thefts per thousand vehicles experienced by MY vehicles in CY 2010. For MY 2011 vehicles, out of a total of 226 vehicle lines, four 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 four vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 3.5826, four 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 2011 theft rate reduction is consistent with the general decreasing trend of theft rates over the past 19 years as indicated by Figure 1.

In Table I, NHTSA has tentatively ranked each of the MY 2011 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 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 in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, and two copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been deleted should be submitted to the docket. 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 2011 Passenger Motor Vehicles Stolen in Calendar Year 2011

	Manufacturer	Make/model (line)	Thefts 2011	Production (mfr's) 2011	2011 Theft rate (per 1,000 vehicles produced)
1	CHRYSLER	DODGE CHARGER	216	44,849	4.8162
2	MITSUBISHI	GALANT	71	16,728	4.2444
3	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC STS	18	4,637	3.8818
4	LAMBORGHINI	GALLARDO	1	259	3.8610
5	HYUNDAI	ACCENT	106	30,231	3.5063
6	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET IMPALA	591	172,098	3.4341
7	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET HHR	230	68,454	3.3599
8	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET AVEO	142	42,367	3.3517
9	NISSAN	INFINITI FX35	21	6,711	3.1292
10	NISSAN	GT-R	1	326	3.0675
11	KIA	RIO	51	18,803	2.7123
12	PORSCHE	PANAMERA	22	8,144	2.7014
13	CHRYSLER	DODGE CHALLENGER	60	24,237	2.4756
14	NISSAN	VERSA	229	97,410	2.3509
15	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS	23	10,050	2.2886
16	NISSAN	SENTRA	213	95,341	2.2341
17	NISSAN	ALTIMA	387	179,269	2.1588
18	AUDI	AUDI A8	10	4,751	2.1048
19	MAZDA	6	52	25,456	2.0427
20	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET CAMARO	196	97,518	2.0099
21	MERCEDES-BENZ	S-CLASS	19	9,652	1.9685
22	TOYOTA	MATRIX	9	4,588	1.9616
23	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET MALIBU	400	211,025	1.8955
24	MITSUBISHI	ENDEAVOR	22	12,018	1.8306
25	CHRYSLER	DODGE AVENGER	73	41,013	1.7799
26	CHRYSLER	DODGE CALIBER	65	37,104	1.7518
27	KIA	FORTE	91	52,119	1.7460
28	FORD MOTOR CO	MUSTANG	107	61,620	1.7365
29	SAAB	9-3	3	1,750	1.7143
30	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC DTS	28	17,146	1.6330
31	NISSAN	MAXIMA	101	62,836	1.6074
32	TOYOTA	CAMRY/SOLARA	781	486,288	1.6060
33	FORD MOTOR CO	TAURUS	118	76,821	1.5360
34	TOYOTA	YARIS	38	24,850	1.5292
35	AUDI	AUDI A3	10	6,734	1.4850
36	CHRYSLER	300	42	28,373	1.4803
37	FORD MOTOR CO	CROWN VICTORIA	27	19,244	1.4030
38	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XJ	4	2,852	1.4025
39	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY MARINER	12	8,656	1.3863
40	FORD MOTOR CO	FOCUS	127	91,762	1.3840
41	MERCEDES-BENZ	CLS-CLASS	2	1,472	1.3587
42	HONDA	ACURA ZDX	1	737	1.3569
43	NISSAN	INFINITI G25/G37	72	53,917	1.3354
44	MAZDA	RX-8	1	768	1.3021
45	MASERATI	GRANTURISMO	2	1,545	1.2945
46	MAZDA	3	123	97,252	1.2648
47	BENTLEY MOTORS	CONTINENTAL	1	809	1.2361
48	MERCEDES-BENZ	C-CLASS	74	60,373	1.2257
49	SUZUKI	SX4	16	13,280	1.2048
50	KIA	SEDONA VAN	20	16,717	1.1964
51	HYUNDAI	ELANTRA	119	99,916	1.1910
52	NISSAN	CUBE	17	14,294	1.1893
53	HYUNDAI	SONATA	350	301,276	1.1617
54	HONDA	CIVIC	158	136,721	1.1556
55	TOYOTA	SCION XB	23	19,909	1.1553
56	VOLVO	S40	5	4,352	1.1489
57	SUZUKI	KIZASHI	7	6,110	1.1457
58	CHRYSLER	JEEP LIBERTY	65	57,104	1.1383
59	FORD MOTOR CO	FUSION	239	211,964	1.1276
60	AUDI	AUDI A6	8	7,108	1.1255
61	CHRYSLER	200	72	64,140	1.1225
62	CHRYSLER	DODGE NITRO	40	35,638	1.1224
63	KIA	SPORTAGE	50	45,604	1.0964
64	NISSAN	INFINITI M37/M56	16	14,818	1.0798
65	BMW	7	13	12,087	1.0755
66	TOYOTA	SCION TC	20	18,637	1.0731
67	KIA	OPTIMA	69	64,320	1.0728
68	FORD MOTOR CO	LINCOLN TOWN CAR	15	14,209	1.0557
69	HONDA	CR-Z	17	16,421	1.0353
70	MERCEDES-BENZ	GLK-CLASS	21	21,303	0.9858
71	TOYOTA	COROLLA	215	223,032	0.9640
72	FORD MOTOR CO	LINCOLN MKT	4	4,274	0.9359
73	VOLVO	S80	4	4,281	0.9344
74	BMW	M3	7	7,575	0.9241
75	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC CANYON PICKUP	6	6,510	0.9217
76	TOYOTA	LEXUS GS	5	5,485	0.9116
77	FORD MOTOR CO	LINCOLN MKS	12	13,171	0.9111
78	VOLVO	C30	5	5,530	0.9042
79	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	LAND ROVER LR2	3	3,333	0.9001
80	MITSUBISHI	ECLIPSE	5	5,610	0.8913
81	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET CORVETTE	11	12,353	0.8905
82	HYUNDAI	SANTA FE	62	69,685	0.8897
83	HYUNDAI	GENERAL MOTORSSIS	26	29,398	0.8844
84	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK LUCERNE	28	31,887	0.8781
85	SUZUKI	VITARA/GRAND VITARA	5	5,704	0.8766
86	VOLKSWAGEN	JETTA/GLI	128	148,313	0.8630
87	PORSCHE	CAYMAN	1	1,199	0.8340
88	KIA	SOUL	80	96,970	0.8250
89	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XK/XKR	3	3,662	0.8192
90	MERCEDES-BENZ	E-CLASS	61	74,557	0.8182
91	BMW	B7	10	12,493	0.8005
92	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK LACROSSE/ALLURE	49	62,533	0.7836
93	FORD MOTOR CO	EDGE	105	134,206	0.7824
94	HONDA	ACURA TL	10	12,807	0.7808
95	HONDA	ACCORD	173	221,250	0.7819
96	CHRYSLER	JEEP PATRIOT	41	53,153	0.7714
97	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC CTS	43	57,930	0.7423
98	VOLVO	C70	5	6,867	0.7281
99	HONDA	ACCORD CROSSTOUR	9	12,388	0.7265
101	KIA	SORENTO	121	168,443	0.7183
102	TOYOTA	LEXUS IS	22	30,811	0.7140
103	FORD MOTOR CO	FIESTA	55	77,183	0.7126
104	AUDI	AUDI R8	1	1,416	0.7062
105	HONDA	ACURA MDX	36	51,201	0.7031
106	NISSAN	PATHFINDER	22	31,439	0.6998
107	GENERAL MOTORS	BUICK REGAL	35	50,439	0.6939
108	BMW	1	9	13,131	0.6854
109	AUDI	AUDI A4/A5	29	42,875	0.6764
110	NISSAN	370Z	4	6,218	0.6433
111	FORD MOTOR CO	ESCAPE	133	207,528	0.6409
112	CHRYSLER	JEEP WRANGLER	66	103,837	0.6356
113	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET COLORADO PICKUP	16	25,283	0.6328
114	BMW	5	42	66,525	0.6313
115	MERCEDES-BENZ	SL-CLASS	2	3,188	0.6274
116	HONDA	INSIGHT	8	12,924	0.619
117	HONDA	ELEMENT	7	11,460	0.6108
118	BMW	3	100	164,060	0.6095
119	MAZDA	2	11	18,108	0.6075
120	TOYOTA	SCION XD	4	6,609	0.6052
121	JAGUAR LAND ROVER	XF	7	11,734	0.5966
122	AUDI	AUDI Q5	14	23,731	0.5900
123	CHRYSLER	JEEP COMPASS	25	42,921	0.5825
124	MAZDA	CX-9	17	29,203	0.5821
125	VOLKSWAGEN	TIGUAN	15	25,785	0.5817
126	TOYOTA	TACOMA PICKUP	71	122,520	0.5795
127	HONDA	ACURA RDX	9	15,590	0.5773
128	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET CRUZE	100	177,381	0.5638
129	MAZDA	CX-7	21	37,655	0.5577
130	BMW	Z4/M	3	5,450	0.5505
131	TOYOTA	RAV4	100	181,785	0.5501
132	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC SRX	32	59,077	0.5417
133	VOLKSWAGEN	CC	7	13,003	0.5383
134	CHRYSLER	DODGE JOURNEY	17	32,094	0.5297
135	VOLKSWAGEN	EOS	1	1,908	0.5241
136	NISSAN	ROGUE	72	138,221	0.5209
137	FORD MOTOR CO	FLEX	17	32,847	0.5176
138	AUDI	AUDI S4/S5	4	7,820	0.5115
139	PORSCHE	911	3	5,892	0.5092
140	NISSAN	FRONTIER PICKUP	23	47,081	0.4885
141	SUBARU	IMPREZA	24	49,315	0.4867
142	VOLVO	XC90	5	10,641	0.4699
143	TOYOTA	SIENNA VAN	87	187,467	0.4641
144	TOYOTA	4RUNNER	26	56,942	0.4566
145	TOYOTA	HIGHLANDER	38	87,503	0.4343
146	TOYOTA	VENZA	18	42,351	0.4250
147	SUBARU	LEGACY	21	50,878	0.4128
148	HYUNDAI	TUCSON	32	78,643	0.4069
149	FORD MOTOR CO	LINCOLN MKX	11	27,119	0.4056
150	MITSUBISHI	LANCER	11	28,316	0.3885
151	HONDA	PILOT	63	163,910	0.3844
152	NISSAN	JUKE	16	42,380	0.3775
153	NISSAN	MURANO	21	56,539	0.3714
154	HYUNDAI	AZERA	1	2,699	0.3705
155	FORD MOTOR CO	LINCOLN MKZ	9	24,752	0.3636
156	TOYOTA	FJ CRUISER	4	11,018	0.3630
157	HONDA	ACURA TSX	8	22,189	0.3605
158	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET EQUINOX	67	188,476	0.3555
159	BMW	MINI COOPER	17	48,663	0.3493
160	FORD MOTOR CO	RANGER PICKUP	34	99,043	0.3433
161	MITSUBISHI	OUTLANDER	12	35,054	0.3423
162	VOLVO	S60	1	2,951	0.3389
163	FORD MOTOR CO	MERCURY MILAN	2	6,291	0.3179
164	VOLKSWAGEN	GOLF/RABBIT/GTI	10	31,726	0.3152
165	NISSAN	QUEST VAN	5	16,012	0.3123
166	MAZDA	TRIBUTE	1	3,206	0.3119
167	HONDA	FIT	13	41,694	0.3118
168	HYUNDAI	EQUUS	1	3,305	0.3026
169	TOYOTA	AVALON	17	56,692	0.2999
170	SUBARU	OUTBACK	37	129,071	0.2867
171	MERCEDES-BENZ	SMART FORTWO	1	3,542	0.2823
172	HONDA	CR-V	70	255,339	0.2742
173	NISSAN	XTERRA	6	21,983	0.2729
174	GENERAL MOTORS	GMC TERRAIN	22	83,531	0.2634
175	BMW	X3	6	23,188	0.2588
176	HONDA	ODYSSEY VAN	25	103,550	0.2414
177	TOYOTA	LEXUS RX	18	76,526	0.2352
178	TOYOTA	LEXUS ES	10	44,249	0.2260
179	FORD MOTOR CO	TRANSIT CONNECT VAN	6	28,091	0.2136
180	TOYOTA	LEXUS LS	2	9,861	0.2028
181	TOYOTA	LEXUS CT	2	10,216	0.1958
182	MAZDA	MX-5 MIATA	1	5,464	0.1830
183	TOYOTA	PRIUS	22	133,660	0.1646
184	NISSAN	INFINITI EX35	1	6,118	0.1635
185	SUBARU	FORESTER	11	74,829	0.1470
186	VOLVO	XC60	4	36,854	0.1085
187	HYUNDAI	VERACRUZ	1	10,861	0.0921
188	LOTUS	EVORA	0	347	0.0000
189	ASTON MARTIN	DB9	0	86	0.0000
190	ASTON MARTIN	V8 VANTAGE	0	259	0.0000
191	ASTON MARTIN	DBS	0	104	0.0000
192	ASTON MARTIN	RAPIDE	0	317	0.0000
193	AUDI	AUDI TT	0	1,434	0.0000
194	AUDI	AUDI S6	0	159	0.0000
195	BENTLEY MOTORS	MULSANNE	0	235	0.0000
196	BMW	X5	0	37,865	0.0000
197	BMW	X6	0	4,430	0.0000
198	BMW	ACTIVE HYBRID 7L	0	584	0.0000
199	ROLLS ROYCE	DROPHEAD COUPE CONVERTIBLE	0	82	0.0000
200	FERRARI	458	0	662	0.0000
201	FERRARI	599	0	247	0.0000
202	FERRARI	612 SCAGLIETTI	0	1	0.0000
203	FERRARI	CALIFORNIA	0	518	0.0000
204	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC FUNERAL COACH/HEARSE	0	752	0.0000
205	GENERAL MOTORS	CADILLAC LIMOUSINE	0	488	0.0000
206	GENERAL MOTORS	PONTIAC G3	0	243	0.0000
207	GENERAL MOTORS	CHEVROLET VOLT	0	4,370	0.0000
208	HONDA	ACURA RL	0	1,012	0.0000
209	KIA	RONDO	0	109	0.0000
210	KIA	BORREGO	0	14	0.0000
211	LOTUS	ELISE	0	232	0.0000
212	MASERATI	QUATTROPORTE	0	635	0.0000
213	MERCEDES-BENZ	SLK-CLASS	0	1,288	0.0000
214	MERCEDES-BENZ	CL-CLASS	0	723	0.0000
215	MERCEDES-BENZ	F-CELL	0	44	0.0000
216	MERCEDES-BENZ	SLS-CLASS	0	863	0.0000
217	PORSCHE	BOXSTER	0	1,967	0.0000
218	ROLLS ROYCE	PHANTOM	0	67	0.0000
219	ROLLS ROYCE	GHOST	0	854	0.0000
220	SAAB	9-5	0	2,034	0.0000
221	SUBARU	B9 TRIBECA	0	2,780	0.0000
222	SUZUKI	EQUATOR	0	2,160	0.0000
223	TOYOTA	LEXUS SC	0	45,155	0.0000
224	TOYOTA	LEXUS HS	0	2,356	0.0000
225	VOLVO	V50	0	865	0.0000
226	VOLVO	XC70	0	5,069	0.0000

Issued on: June 25, 2013.

Christopher J. Bonanti,

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.