TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Toyota Motor Corp.'s HiAce minivan was the most frequently stolen automobile in Japan in 2011 and its Celsior luxury sedan and Land Cruiser sport utility vehicle came second and third, an organization on car theft prevention said Friday.

Many of the stolen HiAce and Land Cruiser vehicles are believed to have been smuggled to regions such as the Middle East and Africa, while many of the Celsior vehicles were sold on the domestic black market, according to the organization including the National Police Agency and automobile industry associations.

By model, thieves took 2,773 HiAce vehicles, 1,419 Celsior vehicles and 1,071 Land Cruiser vehicles.

The number of reported car thefts totaled 24,927 cases in 2011, up 4.8 percent or 1,152 cases from the preceding year, the report said. The figure marked the first year-on-year increase since 2003, when the number peaked at about 64,000 cases.

By prefecture, Aichi, where Toyota's head office is located, was the region where the greatest number of automobiles were stolen at 5,026 cases. Saitama came second with 1,766 cases.