Why Thieves In London Are Smashing Car Windows In This Weirdest Car Part

Car theft and break-ins are common in many parts of the world. The modus operandi is usually simple. Thieves may target the entire car – as in the case of the famous Kia challenge – or simply break in and steal expensive car parts such as Honda airbags or valuables stored in the car. There are times when criminals don’t even need to break into the car, targeting things that can be stolen from the outside, such as catalytic converters and even Volkswagen badges. While these items are common targets for car thieves around the world, the Telegraph reports that in the United Kingdom, it seems that thieves have found an unexpected new item to steal: the removable rear shelf.

The rear parcel shelf is a small storage space located behind the rear seats, in the space between the seat and the rear glass. These luxury items have become a new target for car thieves in the UK, with several areas reporting a sudden increase in thefts involving the item. These parcel tray thieves appear on e-bikes or bicycles – usually at night – approach the vehicle, break the rear glass, remove the parcel shelf, stow it under their arms, and leave the area.

These shelves eventually found their way onto online markets where they sold for hundreds of pounds – often to the same people who stole the parcel trays in the first place. Given that top-of-the-line replacement car packages can cost £200 to £300 ($270 to $400), there seems to be an obvious allure to this completely new hack.

The reason why thieves suddenly start finding attractive parcel shelves is simple. In today’s cars, they are the only “removable” part that can be easily stolen. Older cars used to have quite a few removable parts, from car stereos and satellite navigation screens to dash cameras. These items are integrated into the car’s body in newer models, making them less attractive given the effort required to remove them.

External components such as catalytic converters and exhaust pipes are still accessible, but require complex and time-consuming theft methods. This leaves parcel shelves as the last option left for car thieves to go with. Thankfully, this trend of stealing from parcel shelves seems to be confined to the UK for now. These thieves also target certain car models – usually high-end luxury cars from companies like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar – mainly because the package switch shelves are expensive to replace and, as shown earlier, cost anywhere between $270 and $400 when obtained from authorized dealers.

To make matters worse, victims also need to shell out more money to replace their broken rear windows, as thieves often target them for easy access to the parcel shelf. As a result, a seemingly simple theft can end up costing the victim up to $1,000.