The provincial government and Manitoba Public Insurance have added 100 more vehicles to its mandatory immobilizer list.
The province says the immobilizer program has helped reduce auto theft attempts by almost 49 per cent in the first four months of 2008 and actual auto theft by 39 per cent.
The list goes into effect Oct. 1. It means if your vehicle is on the list, you'll be forced to get an approved immobilizer installed before you can renew your Autopac.
The list represents about 50,000 vehicles, including a number of newer models that have become popular for car thieves.
Take a 2007 GMC Yukon, for instance. MPI estimates that if you have one, the chance it was stolen last year was a staggering one-in-eight.
A 2004 Cadillac Escalade is even worse, at one-in-six.
"By making high-risk vehicles impossible to steal, we take away the weapon that can lead to injury and tragedy in the hands of a reckless thief," said Dave Chomiak, the minister responsible for Manitoba Public Insurance.
The mandatory immobilizer program only applies to vehicles that:
- are registered for use in Winnipeg
- are used to commute to Winnipeg
- have been stolen before in Manitoba
- are being imported into the province
MPI says Winnipeg is where 80 per cent of all Manitoba auto theft occurs.
MPI will pay for standard installations of immobilizers in these vehicles, regardless of where in the province they are registered. Owners are also eligible for rebates on their auto insurance in the future.
Chomiak said the original immobilizer program was successful, and auto thieves have learned to go after cars that aren't on the list, which is why it was time to expand it.
"We are close to putting an end to this epidemic," Chomiak said.
As with the first mandatory immobilizer program, there will be a grace period for installing immobilizers in the early stages of the expanded program.
Automotive shops around the city are preparing for another onslaught of installations.
Barry Nacci of Ward's Auto Security told CTV News that even though MPI picks up the tab, reaction from vehicle owners is mixed.
"A lot of people come in and they're angry about the program because they're being forced to do it, but in the end it has to be done," he told CTV's Kelly Dehn. "We have to get these kids out of the cars."
Vehicles equipped with an MPI approved immobilizer have never been stolen, resulting in a significant decrease in the auto theft rate amongst the vehicles with immobilizers. But the auto theft rate hasn't dropped at all on vehicles that were previously not on the list.
Click here for more information on the immobilizer program.
With a report from CTV's Kelly Dehn.
