A car, truck or motorcycle was stolen in WA almost every hour on average in the 12 months to September, figures reveal.

The statistics, compiled by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, show 7956 vehicles were stolen during the period — an average of almost 22 a day.

Most of the vehicles stolen were passenger and light commercial vehicles (5496), with motorcycles (1949) and heavy trucks (511) lesser targets.

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Compared with the rest of the country, WA was behind only the Northern Territory (6.7) and ACT (4.07) for frequency of thefts, with an average of 3.48 thefts per 1000 registered vehicles.

National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council executive director Ray Carroll said the total value of vehicles stolen in WA during the 12-month period was $67.6 million despite a 7 per cent fall in value compared with the previous year to a five-year low.

“It’s never known exactly why cars are stolen or targeted by criminals,” he said.

“Some cars that are stolen can be used in rebirthing, sold for parts, used in other crimes and in some cases just for joy-riding.”

Vehicles worth less than $5000 were most commonly stolen in WA (35 per cent), followed by $5000 to $10,000 (24 per cent) and $10,000 to $20,000 (22 per cent). Two per cent of all cars stolen in the period were worth more than $50,000, including 25 Toyota Prados, five Range Rovers, four Audis and four Ford Mustangs.

“The most common method for stealing a car is now via the thief gaining access to the owner’s keys,” Mr Carroll said.

“Some data analysis we have done indicates that around seven in 10 cars are now stolen with the keys. There are obviously many ways they do this — some are simply opportunistic thefts where the owner has left the keys in the car unattended.

“In some cases threats are used to make the owner get out. Others may steal handbags or keys from gyms.

“But by far the most common method is by house burglary where the thief breaks in with the intention of finding the keys in order to steal the car.”

Gosnells was the State’s car-theft hotspot with 84 reported crimes, followed by Kununurra in the far north (77) and the Perth suburbs of Bayswater (65), Baldivis (61) and Thornlie (60).

Mr Carroll said stolen vehicles were often used in other crimes such as armed robberies, ram raids and police pursuits.

He said the key to avoiding becoming a victim was to always lock cars, make sure if it was an older model that it had an immobiliser installed, keep valuables out of sight of potential thieves and keep keys secure at all times.

“Thieves often target homes to steal car keys of secure vehicles, so enhancing your home’s security is one way to prevent that occurring,” Mr Carroll said.

“Always store car keys out of view and away from external doors and windows.”