Theft of buses and insured vehicles: contrasting figures
The Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) reported a significant increase in the theft of passenger buses during the last year. In contrast, overall insured vehicle theft was at its lowest level in five years.
Norma Alicia Rosas, general director of AMIS, reported that between July 2025 and June 2026, bus thefts increased from 68 to 162 units. “The most relevant thing here is that we are very attentive, we are in coordination with the authorities to see which are those sections where the buses are being stolen the most,” he said.
Part of these units are later used to commit other crimes, so they are already part of federal highway security strategies.
General decline and recovery
The theft of insured vehicles fell 16.2%, from 60,698 to 50,891 units. On average, 139 vehicles were stolen per day, with a recovery rate of 45%. Heavy equipment also fell 13.6%, from 9,549 to 8,246 units, and its recovery improved from 56% to 61%.
Rosas attributed the reduction to the coordination between insurers, authorities and the BALAM Strategy of the National Guard, which operates in 12 states, covers 22 highway sections and monitors 938 strategic kilometers through real-time monitoring, aerial and ground surveillance, and intelligence.
States with the highest incidence
Robbery with intimidation dropped from 57.9% to 53% nationwide, but Sinaloa remains the most affected entity: eight out of ten robberies occur with aggression. The six entities with the most thefts registered reductions: State of Mexico (-22.5%), Puebla (-29%), Mexico City (-17.8%), Sinaloa (-16%), Guanajuato (-8.2%) and Jalisco (-5%).
Most stolen models
The Nissan Versa remains the most stolen insured vehicle, with 2,112 cases (a decrease of 11%). They are followed by Kenworth tractors (1,792), Bajaj motorcycles from 111 to 250 cc (1,370), Nissan NP300 (1,284) and Nissan March (1,175). The latter was the only model with an increase (1.8%).
In thefts with intimidation, the Toyota Hilux Pick Up tops the list: 83.1% of its thefts occur through force. They are followed by Freightliner trucks, dry van semi-trailers, International units and Kenworth tractors.
