Range Rover CEO, reeling from his vehicles being too easy to steal, calls for ‘national conversation’ about organized vehicle crime in the UK

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) CEO Adrian Mardell, speaking to investors on Friday, said the U.K. government should do more to clamp down on organized vehicle theft, and argued Range Rovers don’t deserve their unfortunate reputation. 

Mardell said his company is “partly funding” police operations at ports where criminal gangs export stolen vehicles.

“The containers are not being checked and [stolen cars] get out of the country,” he said. “If we could stop it there, then the ability for these gangs to do this will be restricted.”

He called for a “national conversation” in the U.K. about the crime and ways to stop it. He also said he would prefer if the government delayed expected tax cuts amid a cost-of-living crisis and instead put more funds toward police operations at ports

“This is important to so many people, it goes to the fabric of the society we’re in,” he said.

‘Relay attack’ as the key to Range Rover theft

Range Rovers, with a starting price of about $130,000, have become popular among thieves in recent years, partly because they’re so desirable. The criminals use a “relay attack,” among other methods, in which they intercept the signal between a vehicle and its key, allowing them to unlock the door and drive off.

The automaker has been updating older models with improved software designed to thwart such attacks, leading to fewer thefts. The number of Range Rover Sport models stolen fell by 29% last year compared to 2022, according to Whatcar?, citing government data, sending the model from second to fifth place among the nation’s most frequently stolen. 

Mardell cited government figures showing a “low level of theft” among the automaker’s newer vehicles, which he said proved there is “no reason whatsoever why any insurance company should not gladly and readily insure” them. 

Still, the well-publicized security woes of the Range Rover have resulted in a hard-to-shake reputation among the public and insurers. Insurance prices have soared for drivers of Range Rovers, spurring the company to offer its own insurance. On the bright side, JLR reported a strong fourth quarter on Friday, with its pre-tax profit nearly three times higher than the year-ago period.