Tennessee drivers finally caught a bit of a break in 2025, with 13,642 reported vehicle thefts statewide, according to a National Insurance Crime Bureau dataset reviewed locally. The totals have backed away from a recent peak, but the relief is not evenly spread. A small cluster of counties and a few familiar, older sedans are still doing most of the heavy lifting in the crime stats.
According to WATE, the NICB dataset shows the Nissan Maxima was Tennessee’s most-stolen model in 2025, with 657 thefts logged. The Nissan Altima and Hyundai Elantra followed close behind. WATE also reports Knox County saw 772 thefts last year, even as its total dropped about 20 percent from 2024. Smaller counties such as Scott, Cumberland, and Fentress recorded 23, 78, and 11 thefts, respectively, a reminder that rural roads are not a guarantee of safety.
National picture
Nationally, the National Insurance Crime Bureau has found vehicle thefts drifting back toward pre-pandemic levels, with 2025 figures falling in many regions. The group also lists the Hyundai Elantra and Sonata among the country’s most-stolen models, a trend that helps explain why those badges keep popping up in Tennessee’s numbers, according to NICB.
Hotspots inside Tennessee
WATE reports that Shelby and Davidson counties both outpaced Knox County for total thefts, with Memphis standing out as one of the nation’s hardest-hit metros on a per-capita basis. Those county-level numbers, pulled from the NICB dataset, show that statewide improvement can still hide stubborn hot spots where thieves and chop shops cluster their activity.
Why some cars remain easy marks
Investigators and reporters have kept circling back to the same weak link: older base-trim vehicles that never got engine immobilizers. Viral social media clips did the rest, walking would-be thieves through a crime that should have been a lot harder than it was. Automakers later launched software fixes and service campaigns. The 2023 effort by Hyundai and Kia to curb thefts, along with related settlements and expanded repair programs, has been documented by NHTSA and covered by ABC News.
What drivers and police are doing
Hyundai responded with free anti-theft software updates and mobile service clinics meant to reach owners who could not easily get to a dealer. On the enforcement side, local agencies have turned up the pressure with focused patrols and stings. In Nashville, the Metro Police Department says its anti-theft initiative that started in early 2024 has led to hundreds of vehicle recoveries and more than a thousand arrests, according to MNPD.
For drivers, the advice is not glamorous but it is effective: lock the doors, keep keys and fobs away from doors and windows, and use simple mechanical deterrents or tracking devices when possible. Tennessee’s 2025 figures show meaningful statewide progress, yet owners of older Nissans and certain Hyundai models in both big cities and rural counties are still looking at higher risk and a strong case for taking every commonsense precaution. The numbers were reviewed locally by WATE and are drawn from NICB’s national dataset.
