A senior executive at Toyota Australia says the company has begun working with authorities to crack down on the ever-increasing number of Japanese brand vehicles stolen by youths, gangs and organized crime in recent years.
Sean Hanley, head of sales, marketing and franchise at Toyota Australia, said: Daily Sparkz The car maker was aware of the situation and denied it had done anything to address the spate of thefts, which appeared to involve new and near-new Toyotas in Victoria and more recently Queensland.
“What I want to say now is that we are working very closely with the relevant authorities, particularly in Victoria and Queensland,” he said.
“I am unable to go into detail about what (or) how we are working with the authorities other than to tell customers that we are very aware of this issue.
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“We are not sitting back and doing nothing, as may have been suggested (by the media).
“This is incorrect and we will provide our customers with more information in the near future,” he said.
As reported in September, data released by the Crime Statistics Agency showed car thefts in Victoria increased by 116 per cent in three years – with a 40 per cent increase in just 12 months (to June 2025).
As reported by , vehicle theft in Queensland has increased by 101 percent over the last decade The courier mail, with the Toyota LandCruiser being 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 stolen from the same premises.
“Today I want to leave it at that, but I also want to acknowledge that we know this is an issue for our customers,” Mr Hanley said Daily Sparkz.
“We are dealing with incredibly advanced criminal activity here and are working with the relevant authorities to find what we believe are satisfactory solutions.
“So I think in the next few weeks we will be able to talk to our customers about some of the activities that we are involved in to give them confidence.”
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