A side question, both this and the VW power unlock payment from the other day, are targeting UK market, so is legislation (lack of it) such in the UK that allows for such practices?
Stealing cars is illegal in the UK, however you do it. Just having this "gameboy-like device", in your pocket is "going equipped", and you're going to get arrested on its discovery about your person outside of your abode. No ifs, no buts.
The UK has lots of new cars (plenty of cheap financing around for lease, PCP and HP deals), and there is a low-level epidemic of thefts of vehicles that end up in shipping containers and heading out of the country within hours. [0]
Car insurance is also so high in the UK at background levels that if you end up owning a highly desirable and very easy to steal car (the Range Rover a few years ago, for example), the costs being added to price in the risk of your car ending up in a container heading to the Middle East don't seem - as a percentage - particularly high.
The fact UK has great shipping throughput to the Middle East, Africa, and so on, is both a boon economically, but also it makes great cover for all sorts of shenanigans.
