Cold chain and refrigerated vehicle immobiliser UK, protecting high-value cargo vehicles

Refrigerated vans and cold chain vehicles carry cargo whose value often significantly exceeds the vehicle itself. A stolen refrigerated van means not only losing the vehicle but losing its cargo and the commercial relationships that depend on reliable temperature-controlled delivery. LockCar’s commercial-grade immobiliser protects all refrigerated van platforms across the UK.

Cold chain vehicle theft risk

Refrigerated vans and temperature-controlled vehicles operate across pharmaceutical, food service, catering, and medical supply sectors. In each sector, the cargo value routinely exceeds the vehicle value. A pharmaceutical delivery van may carry £20,000 to £100,000 of temperature-sensitive medicines. A catering supply vehicle may carry tens of thousands of pounds of perishable food. A medical supply vehicle may carry specialist equipment that is difficult or impossible to replace rapidly.

Cold chain vehicles face the same relay attack vulnerability as any other commercial van platform. Refrigerated Sprinter, Transit, and Iveco Daily variants are all based on the same commercial van platforms that feature in standard vehicle theft statistics. The addition of refrigeration equipment increases the vehicle’s commercial value but does not change its relay vulnerability. Newer keyless cold chain vehicles are attacked using exactly the same techniques as standard commercial vans.

The logistical impact of a stolen cold chain vehicle extends beyond the vehicle and cargo. Temperature excursion during theft destroys cargo that might otherwise have been recoverable. Cold chain documentation is disrupted. Delivery schedules dependent on the vehicle’s capacity are broken. Insurance claims for cargo loss in temperature-controlled vehicles involve complex assessment of excursion time and cargo condition that extends the resolution process significantly.

LockCar for refrigerated and cold chain operators

The LockCar i226 is the standard recommendation for refrigerated van installations. The 20A relay handles the higher-current circuits found in commercial van platforms, and the isolated MCU communication architecture ensures the relay break cannot be bypassed even in the less monitored environments where cold chain vehicles are often parked overnight. The anti-hijack mode is configurable to accommodate the specific operational patterns of cold chain vehicles, including vehicles that run their refrigeration units continuously while parked.

For cold chain fleet operators, the LFM Fleet Monitoring Platform provides real-time GPS tracking of all vehicles, enabling logistics managers to monitor vehicle locations throughout the delivery cycle and respond immediately to unexpected movements. The 4G GPS capability in LockCar One Plus additionally provides geofencing alerts, notifying operators when a vehicle leaves a defined geographic zone outside of scheduled hours.

How LockCar stops this threat

LockCar installs a hardwired relay break in the vehicle start circuit. This break is positioned downstream of the factory immobiliser, the OBD port, and the CAN bus. Even after a successful relay attack or CAN bus injection, the engine will not start because the LockCar relay is open. Closing it requires a second, independent encrypted authentication that relay equipment cannot replicate. LockCar is designed and manufactured in the United Kingdom and installed by mobile engineers at your location.

LockCar recommended products

Top recommendation

LockCar i226, £79

Primary recommendation for this vehicle type

UK-manufactured and professionally fitted. Mobile installation UK-wide from £150 fully fitted. Full installation documentation provided for insurance purposes.

LockCar One Plus, £259

4G GPS, camera, geofencing, immobiliser

For cold chain operators needing real-time visibility. GPS geofencing alerts if vehicles leave authorised zones. Live camera confirms cargo security. Remote immobilisation from the app.

Fleet Monitoring Platform, Fleet pricing

GPS, cameras, all vehicles in one dashboard

Centralise cold chain fleet data. Real-time GPS for all vehicles, trip history, and movement alerts. Reduces operational risk and insurance exposure for multi-vehicle cold chain operators.