{"id":867801,"date":"2026-07-28T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=867801"},"modified":"2026-07-28T17:04:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:04:05","slug":"the-car-now-officially-a-new-target-for-hijackers-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/867801\/the-car-now-officially-a-new-target-for-hijackers-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The car now officially a new target for hijackers in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Discovery Insure has informed its Toyota Corolla Cross customers that the vehicle is now considered high risk for hijacking and theft in South Africa.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This follows recent reports by private security firms that targeting of the Corolla Cross has been on the rise in South Africa since its launch in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an email sent to customers with affected vehicles, Discovery Insure said it had reviewed its claims data and identified a significant increase in theft and hijacking trends involving certain models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re committed to helping you stay protected. To do this, we regularly review the risks associated with the vehicles we insure to make sure your cover remains appropriate and sustainable,\u201d the insurer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur latest analysis shows a significant increase in vehicle theft trends affecting certain vehicle types and locations. Using data insights, we’ve identified vehicles with a higher risk of theft and hijacking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some policyholders, including owners of the Toyota Corolla Cross 1.8 XR, Discovery has now made the installation of two Crowd Search Sensors compulsory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The insurer said the devices are designed to improve the chances of recovering a stolen vehicle by using wireless tracking technology linked to its recovery network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo help reduce this risk and to keep your comprehensive cover in place, your vehicle(s) must have two Crowd Search Sensors installed and active,\u201d Discovery said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company warned that customers who fail to install and activate the devices within the specified notice period could lose theft and hijacking cover for the affected vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the devices are not installed, activated, and in working order by the end of the notice period, your plan may be amended to exclude theft and hijacking cover for the affected vehicle(s),\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crowd Search Sensor is initially provided at no additional cost, but from the next policy anniversary, customers will pay a Stolen Vehicle Recovery (SVR) fee of R135 per month per vehicle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Discovery said it will waive this fee if the customer already has an approved third-party tracking system installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why certain car models are targeted in South Africa <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The insurer does not maintain a permanent public list of vehicles requiring mandatory tracking devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Existing customers are notified through their policy schedules if an SVR device is compulsory, while new customers are informed during the quotation process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In exceptionally high-risk cases, Discovery may require a dual-tracker setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The insurer’s decision reflects a broader trend highlighted by the private security industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late last year, Blue Hawk Tactical warned that organised criminal groups had been targeting Toyota Corolla Cross vehicles across Gauteng for several months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Fidelity Services Group CEO Wahl Bartmann, criminals are often drawn to vehicles that are both popular and inconspicuous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He previously said hijackers favour vehicles that \u201cblend in\u201d and can travel through traffic without attracting attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common colours such as white and silver make these vehicles even harder to identify on busy roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once stolen, vehicles are frequently dismantled for parts or illegally re-registered before being resold on the market. This makes high-volume models particularly valuable to organised crime syndicates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry sales figures from Naamsa show that many of the vehicles commonly targeted by criminals are also among South Africa’s best-selling models, increasing demand for their parts and making them attractive targets for theft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bartmann has also noted that hijackings remain heavily concentrated in major urban and peri-urban areas, particularly in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While motorists cannot completely eliminate the risk, he urged drivers to remain alert, avoid predictable routines, be cautious when arriving home, keep valuables out of sight, and comply with criminals if confronted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said portable panic buttons and other rapid-response security tools can make a critical difference during an emergency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Corolla Cross has now been identified as a higher-risk vehicle by Discovery Insure, experts caution that hijacking statistics should always be viewed alongside the number of each model on South Africa’s roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popular vehicles naturally appear more often in crime data because there are simply far more of them in circulation than less common models.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Discovery Insure has informed some of its customers that their vehicles are now identified as high-risk for hijacking and theft in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":867809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2082119144808296753","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[23680,13149,15945,853],"class_list":["post-867801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-blue-hawk-tactical","tag-discovery-insure","tag-fidelity-services-group","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=867801"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":867833,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/867801\/revisions\/867833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/867809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=867801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=867801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=867801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}