Vehicle manufacturers celebrated nearly a decade of recognised achievement in vehicle security, as the winners of the ninth British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards (BIVSA) were announced at Thatcham this week.
Volkswagen UK was presented with the overall Best Car Manufacturer Award for the third year running. Nissan scooped the LCV equivalent, with the Nissan Primastar winning outright in the Heavy Van category.
Supported by government and other stakeholders, the awards represent an opportunity for manufacturers to demonstrate the efforts they are making in minimising the disruption and anxiety caused by becoming a victim of crime.
Speaking at the event on behalf of vehicle manufacturers, Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “These awards demonstrate the commitment vehicle manufacturers have to ensuring customers’ cars and vans remain protected. The industry strives to stay one step ahead of criminals and only by working closely with the Police, insurers and the experts at Thatcham, can we maintain the downward trend in vehicle related crime.
“The unregulated purchase and use of equipment that should only be available to specialist technicians is an increasing concern and we should collectively explore how we can minimise its impact on the safety and security of the motoring public.”
According to Thatcham’s vehicle security team, the best continue to get better, “We work closely with the police to establish the current techniques that thieves are using and the British insurance industry’s vehicle security criteria against which vehicles are assessed is continually updated to reflect this knowledge. In this way we have continued to raise the bar for manufacturers and they in turn have responded with ever more secure vehicles,” said Peter Shaw, Chief Executive at Thatcham.
During the nine years of BIVSA, Thatcham has presented more than 150 awards to nearly 20 different manufacturers. In 2013, the awards will become the British Insurance Vehicle Safety and Security Awards (BIVSSA) to recognise the achievements in safety as well as security.
For more information, and a full list of winners and runners-up, visit the Thatcham website.
