Several hundred cars are set on fire in Berlin each year. Targets often include expensive brands, with incidents concentrated in neighborhoods such as Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain, Mitte, and Pankow. While public debate has long connected these fires to protests against gentrification, social inequality, and neighborhood change, police records suggest that only part of the cases are politically motivated. Others are attributed to personal disputes, insurance fraud, compulsive arson, or remain without a clear explanation.