SEREMBAN, Malaysia: The number of cars stolen in Malaysia last year increased by almost 1,500 units compared with 2006.

Most of the 12,427 vehicles stolen in 2007 were luxury cars, including multi-purpose vehicles and four-wheel-drives. They were stolen at night by "professionals".

What is more shocking is that car distributors believe that these car thieves probably received inside help as the jobs were often "clean" and did not involve any damage to the vehicle.

This information was the result of an internal probe by car dealers who were working to find ways to curb the increasing number of thefts.

"On average, about 30 to 35 cars are stolen daily. We believe several of these car thieves were getting inside help as they knew exactly where the alarm sensors were located and how to de-activate them.

"The thieves were also well-versed with the mechanisms of the immobilisers, while they all had generic keys to start the vehicle," said a distributor.

He said the number of car thefts had risen to alarming figures, from about 8,000 in 2002 to more than 12,000 last year. And the number is expected to rise this year.

"Luxury models, which are mostly priced above RM120,000, were stolen based on demand for their spare parts in foreign markets.

"These vehicles were stolen and their parts stripped before being shipped abroad, mostly to Africa," he said.

From the 11,101 cars reported stolen in 2006, he said only 3,365 were recovered.

He said the aim of the meeting between the car distributors was to find ways to improve security systems and put an end to these thefts.

"The problem is if these thieves are getting inside help, then we have a very serious issue. If someone is leaking our security codes and working with these syndicates, then we will hopefully be able to find some way around it," he said.

He said the dealers were recommending to car manufacturers certain measures, like relocating the car alarm sensors and the installation of additional safety features which they hope would make it more difficult for car thieves.

For now, he said the only advise they could offer car owners, especially those with luxury vehicles, was to be more vigilant and use as many extra locks as possible.

"Each car manufacturer would like to say that his vehicle has the best security features and will not advise his customers to buy a steering or handbrake lock.

"Unfortunately, no security system seems superior compared to the rest and the best alternative could be for the vehicle owner to use additional locks."