[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 225 (Monday, November 23, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72929-72936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29701]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 541

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0067]


Final Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Publication of 2013 final theft data.

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SUMMARY: This document publishes the final data on thefts of model year 
(MY) 2013 passenger motor vehicles that occurred in calendar year (CY) 
2013, including theft rates for existing passenger motor vehicle lines 
manufactured in model year (MY) 2013.

DATES: Effective date: November 23, 2015.

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 (202) 366-4139. Her fax number is (202) 493-2990.

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 and 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 this statutory 
mandate, NHTSA has published theft data annually beginning with MYs 
1983/84. Continuing to fulfill the section 33104(b)(4) mandate, this 
document reports the final theft data for CY 2013, the most recent 
calendar year for which data are available.
    In calculating the 2013 theft rates, NHTSA followed the same 
procedures it used in calculating the MY 2012 theft rates. (For 2012 
theft data calculations, see 79 FR 70115). 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

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system that receives vehicle theft information from nearly 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 2013 theft rate for each vehicle line was calculated by 
dividing the number of reported thefts of MY 2013 vehicles of that line 
stolen during calendar year 2013 by the total number of vehicles in 
that line manufactured for MY 2013, as reported to the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA).
    The final 2013 theft data show a slight increase in the vehicle 
theft rate when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2012. 
The final theft rate for MY 2013 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar 
year 2013 increased to 1.1562 thefts per thousand vehicles produced, an 
increase of 2.37 percent from the rate of 1.1294 thefts per thousand 
vehicles experienced by MY 2012 vehicles in CY 2012.
    For MY 2013 vehicles, out of a total of 211 vehicle lines, ten 
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 ten vehicle lines with a theft rate higher than 
3.5826, nine are passenger car lines, one is a multipurpose passenger 
vehicle line, and none are light-duty truck lines.
    The overall trend using increments of five years show a marked 
decrease in passenger motor vehicle thefts over a 20-year (1993-2013) 
period. Specifically, the MY 2013 theft rate (1.16 thefts per thousand 
vehicles) is 70.85 percent lower than the CY/MY 1993 rate (3.98 thefts 
per thousand vehicles), 54.33 percent lower than the CY/MY 1998 rate 
(2.54 thefts per thousand vehicles), 36.96 percent lower than the CY/MY 
2003 rate (1.84 thefts per thousand vehicles) and 31.36 percent lower 
than the CY/MY 2008 rate (1.69 thefts per thousand vehicles). Overall, 
as indicated by Figure 1, theft rates have continued to show a downward 
trend since CY/MY 1993, with periods of very moderate increases from 
one year to the next.
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    On Thursday, August 6, 2015, NHTSA published the preliminary theft 
rates for CY 2013 passenger motor vehicles in the Federal Register (80 
FR 46930). The agency tentatively ranked each of the MY 2013 vehicle 
lines in descending order of theft rate. The public was requested to 
comment on the accuracy of the data and to provide final production 
figures for individual vehicle lines. As a result of the adjustments, 
some of the final theft rates and rankings of vehicle lines changed 
from those published in the August 2015 notice.
    The agency received written comments from Volkswagen Group of 
America, Inc., informing the agency that the production volumes listed 
for the Audi A3 and the Audi A4/A5 was incorrect. In response to this 
comment, the production volume for the Audi A3 and the Audi A4/A5 have 
been corrected and the final theft data has been revised accordingly. 
As a result of the correction, the Audi A4/A5 previously ranked No. 22 
with a theft rate of 2.4792 is now ranked No. 100 with a theft rate of 
0.7510 and the Audi A3 previously ranked No. 178 with a theft rate of 
0.1346 is now ranked No. 56 with a theft rate of 1.3444.
    The following list represents NHTSA's final calculation of theft 
rates for all 2013 passenger motor vehicle lines. This list is intended 
to inform the public of calendar year 2013 motor vehicle thefts of 
model year 2013 vehicles and does not have any effect on the 
obligations of regulated parties under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 331, Theft 
Prevention.
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P

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    Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 
1.95.
Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2015-29701 Filed 11-20-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-C