In Canada late model car theft is a huge issue, especially in the Greater Toronto Area.
Thieves will usually use a signal extender or something to take advantage of the keyless go and drive away, usually driven to a port in Quebec IIRC where they are then shipped to Africa or the Middle East where they’re resold.
Just two weeks ago $60 million in stolen cars were recovered (article)), I hear about people’s cars being stolen from work parking lots, know of people on my street who have had attempts to steal their cars.
Most commonly stolen cars are probably Toyota/Honda SUVs and pickups.
Glad I have a stick shift but it’s push button/key fob, so not immune, but also wouldn’t be worth stealing with a value under $10k. I never leave it running unattended either.
Honda/Toyota are most valuable and common to steal here. I think they finally dethroned the Ford Super Duty trucks that littered our top 10.
I know some yards storing new vehicles were getting hit hard. The thieves would try to get them as quickly as they could to a place where they could then block the signal of the tracking devices that newer vehicles have. Some may part them out, but I heard getting them in shipping containers and shipped out to countries where they don’t care about VIN registration etc. and could be sold for big money.
Thought I was pretty safe with a stick, then my neighbors across the street had their stick shift of the same make get stolen in the night. Now I’m scared shitless, I want a killswitch