They can’t even stop vehicles from getting stolen from themselves!
As I sit here waiting on word that Dodge is going to rollout the long talked about security code update, from over a year ago now, it’s a little eye roll-worthy that Stellantis can’t even keep vehicles from getting stolen from their own factories. This is the second incident in very recent memory, less than a week apart, actually, when a set of vehicles was stolen right out of a Sterling Heights Assembly Plant.
Gas thieves are back in full force, read about it here.
Surveillance diodes show three Ram pickup truck and a ‘high-end’ Jeep busting through the gates of the Stellantis storage lot in Shelby Township. Back in October, an dealership nearby, Szott M 59 Dodge in Highland, has four of their inventory stolen via driving through the showroom window. Three of those cars have been recovers, and three teenagers, aged 15 to 17 (yikes) were involved.
Director of Sales for Szott Automotive Group, Jeff Schneider, says in these situations, the teens are usually paid cash to steal the cars, sharing, “some are three, four or $5,000 cash. They give them the technology to steal the vehicles. They show them exactly how it's done.”
“These people can steal $100,000 car, which to me is a huge deal. And they go before a judge, and they say property crime, insurance, got the car back and they're back on the streets,” Schneider says.
The pitch behind this is that first time offenders get a slap on the wrist, so the kids get a (almost always literally) get out of jail free card, while lifetime criminals get harsher sentences.
Like the security code for their SRT vehicles, the upgrades they have made to improve security are clearly not enough at the Stellantis plant.
