A few years ago, car-security devices were found mainly in luxury vehicles. But as crimes involving vehicles increase, security gadgets are becoming more widely used, even in economy cars.
The antitheft device market grew nearly seven-fold from 2000 to 17.6 billion yen in 2003 and is expected to reach 71.8 billion yen in 2010, according to Yano Research Institute Ltd., a market research firm.
Car-security products fall into two broad categories: built-in devices, including engine immobilizers that require microchip-embedded keys, and items bought at accessory retailers, including steering wheel locks and some types of burglar alarms.