The biggest problem of these locks is that they are adding weaknesses above those already there by the fact there is no need of physical contact to actually defeat them. A thief with a hacking device in his/her pocket may stay unnoticed until the lock is defeated. Which also means that an embedded alarm could be useless if the alarm is using the same system.
This compared to conventional locks where as soon as a thief starts working on a lock there is no doubt about his/her intentions (or nearly)
In the article about car theft, the electronic strategy was prefer to previous techniques because it was stealthier and quicker.
En France, 300 voitures sont volées chaque jour

Also key locks have become good enough (since the bic pen period) that picking locks is painful according to some reviews.
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/a...-chains-44996/

Electronic locks on the contrary....
This Hacker's Tiny Device Unlocks Cars And Opens Garages | WIRED
Electronic High-Security Locks Easily Defeated at DefCon | WIRED

One of the pro of these electronic locks i see regarding theft protection is about the jamming-the-locking-mechanism-then-coming-back-later-to-finish-the-job strategy.