Motorists are urged to be vigilant, especially during the day and on weekends as criminal syndicates become brazen in their attempts to seize vehicles using weapons.
According to statistics by SAPS, each year over 16 000 vehicles are hijacked from motorists despite state-of-the-art technology fitted by car manufacturers, insurance and vehicle tracking companies to make it difficult for hijackers to get away with stolen vehicles.
The SAPS figures showed that new models - under 10 years - make up more than 67.2% of hijacked vehicles, reports the Sunday Independent.
Older models aren’t spared either as hijackers sell them off as spare parts or are sold cheaply and used as local taxis in townships.
National Hijacking Prevention Academy operations manager Melinda Brussow said Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal experienced the highest number of vehicle hijacking and that most hijackers used firearms.
Brussow said Toyotas and Volkswagen vehicles were among the most hijacked because “there are many of them on the roads” and are easy to sell.
Brussow said most hijackings take place during the day or on weekends.