Thefts push premiums higher

That rate means Queensland motorists face the prospect of higher premiums on their cars.

Insurance Council of Australia figures show thieves escaped with more than 2700 cars between January and March this year - up 22 per cent from the last quarter. CEO Rob Whelan warned professional car theft rackets were back on the rise, with a quarter of more than 16,000 vehicles nationwide stolen for profit.

"The statistics reveal that professional car thieves are becoming more resourceful and audacious,'' he said. "They are increasingly stealing cars to cut up for spare parts and components and are moving cars across state borders to hide their activities.'' And the thieves are targeting dealerships as well as privately-owned vehicles.

On a recent weekend two high-powered cars, worth up to $90,000 each, were stolen from a dealership at Windsor in Brisbane's north. After breaking into the Eagers HSV dealership on the corner of Newmarket and Kedron Brook roads just after midnight, three robbers donning balaclavas found the keys and escaped with a white 2012 Holden HSV Maloo R8 utility and a silver 2012 Commodore HSV Clubsport sedan. 

The vehicles offer extraordinary performance, with the Clubsport producing 317kW of power. Attempts were made to steal two other vehicles, including one which they used to smash through a showroom window and over a bollard to Newmarket Rd but was abandoned after it got stuck. Eagers Holden financial controller Adam Edmonds said the cars were all HSVs, which were worth up to $90,000.

"They've just ram-raided a few cars to make some space and driven out through the windows and through some bollards and they've taken off,'' he said. An employee of another Holden dealership, who wished to remain anonymous, said the problem was ``getting out of control''. "I can tell you this has been happening on a regular basis for the past four months,'' he said.

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