Dealers explore tech to combat auto theft

Canadian auto dealer reached out to several providers of auto theft deterrent and stolen vehicle recovery technology to try to help dealerships better understand their options

There are a number of auto-theft deterrent and stolen vehicle recovery technologies that are effective at getting vehicles back, some that are ineffective, and still more that have yet to be fully vetted, according to Steve Clelland, Vice President of OEM Relations for iA Dealer Services. 

“It’s a wild west,” said Clelland. “The problem is that the industry has not standardized a protocol for these systems yet, meaning it has to ping once a day or it has to use three different sources — whether it’s GPS, satellite and cellular, or cellular triangulation.”

He said some technologies have the ability to locate the vehicle inside a shipping container, but that list is very small. There is perhaps an even smaller list of location providers that have a standing warrant or the ability to geo-fence the ports, which would allow them to know that the vehicle has crossed into that area. 

KYCS

One such provider is sold to dealerships through F&I provider iA Dealer Services. 

The technology is called KYCS (pronounced ‘Kicks’) and it’s traceable with an app. Clelland said some police forces have this app installed on their phones and that the device is covert, in that it is not wired into the vehicle. From a physical structure perspective, he said the device is identical to a number of vehicle parts. 

Some technologies have the ability to locate the vehicle inside a shipping container, but that list is very small. 

“The device doesn’t check in constantly; it checks in infrequently and it never checks in at the same time twice. So we know where it is once a day, but we can turn it on the minute we know that it’s missing,” said Clelland. 

This is to help avoid detection from auto thieves who will sometimes park a stolen car in a secret location and scan it for devices or signals. 

The average cost for dealers ranges from $350-$400, though the price depends on the OEM, the brand, and how the vehicle is packaged. It includes a seven-year battery that lasts five years, due to a two-year cushion if the vehicle is stolen. During this time, the device remains on for the length of the vehicle recovery. 

CarRX

Another technology now available in Canada is CarRX by Elo GPS. Canadian car dealer Brent Ravelle, President of the Ravelle Group of Companies, landed the rights to sell the product in Canada after searching extensively for a product to meet his needs.

“In the last couple of years, I’ve had a number of vehicles stolen,” said Ravelle. “I am in Southwestern Ontario, in the middle of nowhere, and unfortunately (the thieves) liked about eight of my vehicles.”

He said he researched options for several months before discovering a North American product, or rather, three versions of the same product: OBD wired, OBD 2 wire (for some OEM models and electric vehicles), and wireless. All three give dealers a full dealership lot management program.

Todd Kendrick, Director of Sales and Products for RGC Automotive Services, said the device is proprietary and that it goes into sleep mode whenever the vehicle is sitting idle — making it more difficult to detect with a scanner. “It only becomes active when the vehicle starts to move.”

As with all other product suppliers we spoke to, Kendrick said he does not believe they are 100 per cent undetectable, but that it is “unlikely that most scanners will actually sense the device.” He also added that there are other fail safes that they have put in place. 

A rough estimate for auto retailers puts the device at about $399 for three years. Dealers can then price it as they wish to consumers who can opt to keep the device and app after they purchase the vehicle for their own protection.

Whichever provider dealers plan to work with, rest-assured there are options to consider in this wild west of anti-auto theft systems. 

RecovR

Another option in the vehicle recovery space is RecovR, launched three years ago as a product of Kudelski IoT — part of the Kudelski Group that is headquartered in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland and Phoenix, Arizona (USA). 

Patrick Hauert, Senior Vice President of Asset Tracking for Kudelski IoT, described the device as “GPS technology connected with technology like your phone.”

“Basically your smartphone is using the same type of technology. The tracker is placed in the cabin of the vehicle and it’ll report its location every time it moves or stops, thanks to the cellular connectivity,” he said. Hauert added that the company also tracks a bunch of additional parameters, like temperature, and can define zones and geofence those zones. 

For the placement of the devices, as there are many, he advises randomly putting them in a few locations while avoiding theft hotspots — such as the glove compartment. The randomness, and the fact that the device is not wired into a predictable location, makes it more difficult for thieves to find and disable. 

As for pricing, Hauert said the trackers are free for the dealership provided that if dealers sell a vehicle, they sell a certain percentage of products through to their customers. 

“Basically we are sharing the revenue of the RecovR transaction with the dealership and we will ask the dealership for an amount, which in Canada is $340, and they are free to price RecovR to their customer the way they want,” said Hauert.

The RecoveR product is being marketed and endorsed by the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) under a new CADA 360 Security Services program it recently launched to help dealer members with this growing issue. 

Tag Tracking

We also reached out to Tag Tracking’s Director of Sales Richard Cleroux to discuss the company’s anti-auto theft device. He said their approach involves etching their logo discreetly on the front driver and passenger side windows of a vehicle to alert a potential thief that it is protected by their system. 

They then place a varied number of tiny Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) devices throughout the vehicle. Each “mini transponder” has its own unique serial number, and it only takes one to track the vehicle anywhere in North America. 

“It looks like a grain of rice. We call them Nano-Tags; it’s electronic marking. We stick them everywhere, on the most sought-after parts for resellers of stolen parts,” said Cleroux. He also added that, regardless of the vehicle’s location (a container or basement, for example) “there are no barriers for our system.”

The price of the device varies from Québec and Ontario and is typically tied to a five-year contract, although an additional two years are added under certain dedicated programs. 

In general, however, Cleroux said the company offers contracts that vary between five and seven-years. “Prices are subject to dedicated programs and will vary between $350 to $600 for the complete Tag kit with no monthly fees and the installation is included,” he said. “It’s a one-time payment.”

Whichever provider dealers plan to work with, rest-assured there are options to consider in this wild west of anti-auto theft systems. 

In terms of the pricing provided in this article, these are approximate ranges provided by the companies, but dealerships should explore the pricing available to them in their own region. 

In terms of suppliers, there are also many suppliers and providers of technology, and this article only presents a few of the better known options familiar to us.