THE monthly rate of luxury car thefts has fallen sharply, with fewer than 10 vehicles stolen in November, down from an average of 300 in the early months of the year.
Cars stolen last month included two Mercedes-Benz, three BMWs and two Honda Accords, with the tally described by police as the lowest rate of car theft in the territory ''in recent memory''.
However, the downturn appears short-lived, with police reporting 12 luxury cars stolen so far this month, seven of them Mercedes.
Less than a year ago, 100 of these luxury German cars disappeared every month.
By October - during which six Mercedes went missing - just over 500 of the cars had been stolen in the previous nine months, out of a total of more than 3,700 missing vehicles. Chinese authorities have returned 24 stolen Mercedes this year.
Last year the German car was by far the most popular model with crime syndicates - and potential Chinese buyers - with 1,025 Mercedes being stolen out of a total of 6,916 vehicles.
In 1991 a total of 6,352 vehicles were stolen, of which 244 were Mercedes.