EV Fleet Theft: How PCO and Rental Operators Protect Electric Vehicles

If you run PCO cars in London, your fleet is going electric whether you planned it or not. Since January 2023, TfL has required private hire vehicles licensed for the first time to be zero emission capable, so every new car joining a London PCO fleet is a plug-in hybrid or an EV. Rental fleets are heading the same way.

That raises a fair question. Are electric fleet vehicles more at risk of theft, less, or just differently? The honest answer is a mix of all three.

The good news: EVs are stolen less often overall

Across the UK, EVs are less likely to be stolen than the average car. HPI’s analysis of more than 864,000 electric cars found around 0.1% were stolen in a year, against roughly 0.2% of all vehicles. Part of that is that many EVs are newer, with better security, and that the market for stolen EV parts is smaller than for petrol favourites.

So an EV fleet isn’t a theft magnet by default.

The bad news: the EVs fleets run are the ones on the list

The same HPI data shows which EVs thieves actually take, and the top of the list reads like a PCO operator’s order sheet: the Kia e-Niro and Niro EV, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq, and the Kia EV6. Greater London was the area where EVs were most likely to be stolen.

If your fleet is a few dozen Niros and Ioniqs parked overnight at drivers’ homes across London, the national average isn’t really your number. You’re running the most-targeted models in the most-targeted area.

How EV fleets actually get hit

Keyless theft

Most of the EVs fleets buy are keyless. That makes them open to the same relay attacks and key cloning as any modern keyless car: boost the fob’s signal from inside a house, unlock the car, start it, drive away silently. There’s no engine noise to wake anyone up. Our guide to relay attack car theft explains how it works.

Vehicles charging at drivers’ homes

PCO EVs often spend the night on a driver’s drive or a residential street, plugged in. That’s a predictable location, a predictable time, and a key fob usually just inside the front door. For a relay gang, it’s about as easy as it gets.

Charging cable theft

Cable theft is a growing headache for charging operators. An Allego freedom of information request covering more than 30 police forces found over 200 thefts and vandalism incidents at EV chargers between 2022 and mid-2025, with the company calling that the tip of the iceberg. Each cable yields only a few pounds of copper, but the repair and the downtime cost far more. If you run depot charging or supply home chargers to drivers, untethered or unlocked cables are an easy target.

The cost of downtime

For an EV fleet, theft isn’t just the vehicle. It’s the weeks off the road, the excess, and a driver with no car to earn in. EV replacements can take longer to source, and some insurers charge more to cover them. Preventing one theft goes a long way.

How to protect an EV fleet

Fit an immobiliser

An immobiliser is the single most effective layer against keyless theft, because it stops the car being started even when a thief has unlocked it. Ghost-style immobilisers work on many EVs, but compatibility varies by model, so check with the installer before you commit. On pool cars, a relay immobiliser with driver tags also tells you who had which car overnight. Our comparison of ghost and relay immobilisers covers which suits your setup.

Track every vehicle

EVs suit digital tracking particularly well. Most are connected from the factory, so for many models there’s nothing to fit, and you get location, journeys and alerts without wiring anything into a high-voltage vehicle. Set up alerts for movement overnight, so a car leaving a driver’s street at 3am gets flagged while it’s happening. For models that can’t be tracked digitally, a hidden hardwired tracker does the job. See where trackers should be fitted.

Sort out the key habits

The cheapest fixes are behavioural:

• Ask drivers to keep fobs in a signal-blocking pouch or box at home, well away from the front door
• Turn off keyless entry in the vehicle settings where the model allows it
• Check the car has actually locked at the end of every shift

Secure your charging

• Use chargers with locking or tethered cables, and make sure locking is switched on
• Light and cover depot charging areas with CCTV
• Ask drivers with home chargers to use the lock feature and park so the cable isn’t exposed to the street

Think about dash cams carefully

A 4G dash cam with parking mode can record what happens around a parked EV and alert you to an impact. Parking mode draws power from the car’s 12V battery, which on some EVs can be drained if the car sits for a long time, so make sure the camera has a sensible cut-off. Our post on dash cam parking mode battery drain covers the settings.

What this means for your insurance

Insurers look hard at EV fleets because repairs and replacements are expensive. Being able to show tracking, an immobiliser and a clear driver key policy won’t guarantee a lower premium, but it strengthens your position at renewal and if a claim ever comes up.

Frequently asked questions

Are electric cars stolen less than petrol cars? On average, yes. HPI’s data found around 0.1% of EVs were stolen in a year against roughly 0.2% of all vehicles. But some popular fleet EVs, like the Kia Niro and Hyundai Ioniq 5, are targeted much more than the average.

Which EVs are stolen most in the UK? In HPI’s analysis, the Kia e-Niro topped the list, followed by the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Kia Niro EV and Hyundai Ioniq. Greater London was the area where EVs were most likely to be stolen.

Can you fit a ghost immobiliser to an EV? On many models, yes, but compatibility varies. Check with a TASSA-registered installer for your specific vehicles before ordering.

Can you track an electric car without fitting a tracker? Often, yes. Many EVs are connected from the factory, so digital tracking can show location and journeys without any hardware. Older or unsupported models need a fitted tracker.

Do PCO cars in London have to be electric? Since January 2023, TfL has required PHVs licensed for the first time to be zero emission capable, which means a plug-in hybrid or full EV meeting its emissions rules. Check TfL’s current requirements for the detail.

Running an EV fleet and want to see where your gaps are? Talk to Traknova.