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ford The motor company has advanced technology in its popular F-150 pickup to combat the ever-evolving technologies car thieves have at their disposal.
The automaker hopes this latest cat-and-mouse move will help customers avoid the expensive and frustrating process that occurs when vehicles are swiped and includes a feature that will not allow the engine to start even if the pickup has the key fob in it.
Motor vehicle thefts have recently declined in the US after several years of increases. Still, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said more than 850,000 vehicles were stolen in the U.S. in 2024, causing $8 billion in losses.
But according to an analysis by the National Insurance Crime Bureau, thefts have declined by 23% during the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
Ford’s F-150 was in the top 10 most stolen models.
“The F-150 has been a best-selling vehicle for decades, so there are a lot of them on the road,” said Christian Moran, general manager of Ford Secure. “Thieves love to go after pickup trucks. They also love to go after the contents that are often in pickup trucks. Often, there are people who have thousands of dollars worth of tools and products that are worth much more than the value of the vehicle.”
Ford’s Stolen Vehicle Services, which launched with the 2024 F-150 model year, added a “Start Inhibit” feature that allows owners to disable the F-150’s engine from a smartphone using the FordPass app. This makes it impossible for the thief to start the pickup.
It was expanded in the 2025 model year to include the F-250 Super Duty pickup. Ford plans to expand it to other vehicles in the 2026 model year.
The protection package comes with the purchase of the pickup and once activated is included for one year. The cost is $7.99 per month after the first year.
technology intelligence like thieves
F-150 owners can receive alerts on their smartphones about potential theft, including an unauthorized person entering their pickup, whether the doors are open and if the vehicle has been taken or towed.
One of the strongest features of the security package is coordination with police agencies, Moran said.
It works like this. Once the owner learns or is notified that their pickup has been stolen, the owner is encouraged to call the police and file a report. The owner then contacts the Ford call center, who confirms with the police that a theft report has been completed. The call center coordinates efforts with police to use “start inhibit” to shut off the engine and locate where the pickup stopped.
“Normally, within an hour we try to work as hard as we can to get those vehicles,” said Officer Ibrahim Kakish, a member of the U.S. Air Force. detroit Police Commercial Auto Theft Section. “The sooner we get the vehicle, the better. The more likely it is that the vehicle will be intact.”
Security Measures increased, tendency of theft decreased
Auto theft is profitable because some vehicles, particularly high-end and luxury models, are targeted for resale. Other stolen vehicles are used to commit crimes such as carjackings and robberies at jewelry, liquor and other retail stores.
“We used to say that most people who stole cars were fun-loving people,” said Thomas Burke, a retiree. new york city Police detective and current director of the Chesapeake, Virginia-based International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.
“There are very few people having fun anymore,” Burke said. “It’s all professional. They steal them, change the (vehicle identification) numbers and sell them.”
Thieves look for easy targets such as keys left in vehicles. Burke said they also broke into a vehicle to reprogram its computer to accept another key.
But the security measures appear to be working.
“In New York in 1990, we had 196,000 cars stolen in one year,” Burke said. “So far this year, there have been a little over 10,000 stolen, and that’s out of more than 3.5 million cars registered.”
Motor vehicle thefts in Detroit dropped from 9,260 in 2023 to 8,408 last year, according to the city police department. So far this year, there have been 1,837 less thefts than in 2024.
“We’re figuring out the ways they’re stealing vehicles, and we work with the companies to stop it,” Kakish said.