BMW, Audi and Toyota are the brands most targeted by the car thieves in Latvia, as well as seven to 12 years old automobiles, a representative of BALTA Insurance - member of the PZU Group, stated for the LETA news agency.

"BMW, Audi and Toyota are at the top of the car brands most popular among thieves. They find BMW 5 Series is especially attractive. Yet our statistics of car theft claims shows that nobody is safe from thieves - motor own damage (MOD) compensations have been paid also to owners of Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, Subaru, Toyota, KIA, Nissan, Land Rover, Volvo, Mini, Hyundai, Opel and Lexus cars. At present, the value of car theft claims filed with Balta is in the range from EUR 1,200 to EUR 50,000. Thieves steal vehicles of all ages, but most often they cause losses to owners of seven to 12 years old autos," Kristaps Liecinieks, BALTA's transport and risk insurance head told LETA.

According to the same source, car theft claims have risen by nearly 50% this fall in comparison with the summer season. Most cars are stolen to be dismantled and sold as spare parts.

Since June 2014, Balta belongs to the Polish PZU Group. In 2017, Balta ranked third on the Latvian non-life insurance market, with a 17.6% market share.