Crime wave: Toyota acknowledges security issues

A senior executive at Toyota Australia says the company has begun working with authorities to address the ever-increasing number of vehicles from the Japanese brand being stolen by youths, gangs, and organised crime in recent years.

Toyota Australia’s head of sales, marketing and franchise operations Sean Hanley told CarExpert the automaker was aware of the situation, and denied it was doing nothing to address the spate of thefts – which appear to target new and near-new Toyotas in Victoria and, more recently, Queensland.

“So, what I want to say right now is we are working very closely with the relevant authorities, both particularly in Victoria and in Queensland,” he said.

“I’m not in a position to go into a lot of detail about what [or] how we’re working with authorities, except to say to customers we are acutely aware of this issue.

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“We are not sitting back doing nothing, as may have been inferred [by media].

“That’s not correct, and in the very near future we will be going out to our customers with further information,” he explained.

As reported in September, data released by the Crime Statistics Agency showed the number of car thefts in Victoria rose by 116 per cent in three years – with a 40 per cent increase in just 12 months (to June 2025).

In Queensland, vehicle theft has increased by 101 per cent over the past decade, as reported by The Courier Mail, with the Toyota LandCruiser understood to have been the most stolen vehicle in the Sunshine State in 2024.

In recent weeks, the Queensland Police Service confirmed it was investigating a crime wave involving almost 50 stolen Toyota LandCruiser and RAV4 models over a three-week period – including four LandCruisers taken from the same premises.

“So today I just want to leave it there, but I just want to acknowledge that we know this is an issue for our customers,” Mr Hanley told CarExpert.

“We are dealing with incredibly advanced criminal activity here, and we are working with the relevant authorities to try and come up with what we believe will be satisfactory solutions.

“So over the next couple of weeks I believe that we’ll be in a position to speak with our customers about some of the activities that we’re involved with to give them confidence.”

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