Ford Transit and VW Van Theft: How Fleets Protect Transits, Customs, Transporters and Crafters

If you run vans, the odds are most of them are Fords. The Transit and Transit Custom are the backbone of UK trade and delivery fleets, and that’s exactly why thieves like them. There are more of them, there’s a steady market for their parts, and they’re often full of tools worth more than the van.

We’ve covered the wider picture on van fleet theft before. This post is about the specific vans most fleets run, what the latest figures show for them, and what actually protects them.

What the latest figures show

Tempcover’s analysis of DVLA data, published in April 2026, found that van thefts across the UK fell from 11,962 in 2024 to 10,013 in 2025, a drop of 16%. That’s good news, but it’s still around 27 vans a day.

Ford dominated the numbers, with 11,709 thefts across the two years, about 53% of all recorded van thefts. Part of that is simply how many Fords are on the road, but the model-level figures are still striking:

• The Ford Transit 350 was the UK’s most stolen van model, with 1,309 thefts across 2024 and 2025
• Several Transit Custom variants made the top ten, and the Transit Custom 300 Base saw the biggest rise, up from 138 thefts to 222
• Volkswagen, maker of the Transporter and Crafter, recorded 474 thefts in 2025, sixth among van makes

So if your fleet is mostly Transits and Customs, you’re running the vans thieves see most and know best.

Why Transits get stolen

They’re everywhere. A van that’s common is easy to sell on, easy to strip and easy to blend in once the plates are changed.

The parts are worth a lot. Engines, gearboxes, doors and panels for Transits are in constant demand from the repair trade, so a stolen van can be worth more broken up than sold whole.

Older models are easier to take. Many vans still on fleet aren’t new, and older keyless and key-programmed vehicles are more exposed to electronic theft than the latest ones. Our guide to relay attack car theft covers how keyless theft works on fleets.

Often it’s the tools, not the van

Whole-van theft is only half the problem. Tool theft is rising: insurer Everywhen reported 30,848 tool theft offences across 26 police forces in 2025, up 16% on the year before. Many of those are break-ins on vans parked outside homes overnight.

A common method is forcing the top of a van door to get inside, sometimes called “peel and steal”. It takes a couple of minutes, leaves an expensive repair, and the van is off the road while it’s fixed. For a trade or service fleet, a van with no tools is almost as useless as no van at all.

How van fleets protect Transits and VWs

Stop the van being driven away

An immobiliser is the single most effective layer against whole-van theft. On depot fleets with lots of drivers, a relay immobiliser with driver tags is usually the practical choice: no tag, no start, and a record of who drove which van. Our comparison of ghost and relay immobilisers covers the trade-offs.

Track every van, with alerts

A hidden hardwired tracker lets you see every van, get movement alerts out of hours, and act quickly if one goes. Tow and tilt alerts matter on vans, which are often lifted rather than driven. Many newer vans are connected from the factory, so digital tracking can cover them without fitting anything, with hardwired units for older vehicles. See where trackers should be fitted for why the OBD port isn’t enough on its own.

Make the load area harder to get into

• Fit additional deadlocks or slam locks to the load doors
• Add door protection plates where the door edge can be forced
• Use lockable, bolted-down tool storage inside the van
• Fit an alarm that covers the load area as well as the cab

Ask a van security specialist what suits your models. Transits, Customs, Transporters and Crafters all have well-established options.

Get the tools out overnight

The simplest fix is often the best. If tools can come out of the van overnight, take them out. Where they can’t, a sticker saying no tools are kept in the vehicle won’t stop a determined thief, but it may move an opportunist on.

Park smart

• Park with the rear doors against a wall or another vehicle
• Use lit, overlooked spots or a secure depot
• Avoid leaving vans in the same quiet spot every night

Record what happens

A 4G dash cam with parking mode can record someone around the van and alert you to an impact. It won’t stop a break-in, but it helps with the police report and the insurance claim, and it helps prove whether damage happened on the road or while parked.

Building it into how you run the fleet

Most of this is cheap once it’s routine. Give drivers a short briefing on parking, tools and locking, make the van checks part of the start and end of each shift, and make sure someone is watching the alerts out of hours. Our post on van theft for logistics operators covers building a theft-resistant fleet culture in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most stolen van in the UK? In Tempcover’s analysis of DVLA data, the Ford Transit 350 was the most stolen van model across 2024 and 2025, with 1,309 thefts. Ford accounted for about 53% of all recorded van thefts.

Are van thefts going up or down? Down. The same data showed van thefts fell 16%, from 11,962 in 2024 to 10,013 in 2025. Tool theft, though, rose 16% in 2025 according to Everywhen’s police data.

How do I stop my Transit being stolen? Fit an immobiliser, a hidden hardwired tracker with tow and movement alerts, extra locks on the load doors, and park with the rear doors blocked. Take tools out overnight where you can.

Are Volkswagen vans stolen less than Fords? Far fewer VW vans are stolen in total, with 474 recorded in 2025 against 5,371 Fords. Some of that is down to how many of each are on the road, so VWs still need the same basic protection.

Does a tracker stop tools being stolen from a van? Not on its own. A tracker helps you recover the van and alerts you to movement. For tools, you need physical security on the load area, lockable storage, and ideally taking tools out overnight.

Running a van fleet and want to see where your gaps are? Talk to Traknova.