Unstoppable SUV Sales – Will SUVs End?

Edited by: Giorgos Pallikaris

In recent years, the SUV segment occupies an increasingly large share of the sales “pie”. One can say that crossover SUVs are the reason why the entire auto industry has managed to emerge unscathed from several crises and global shortages. It’s the category that brings money into corporate coffers, but everyone is wondering if it’s a fad that’s going to die out or if it’s a new reality.

In 2021, SUVs accounted for nearly 42 percent of global new vehicle sales, excluding light commercial vehicles. Consumers around the world purchased nearly 31.9 million SUVs, an increase of 13 percent compared to 2020 data. The growth was impressive, especially compared to the rest of the categories.

In 2022, the data (released to Motor1.com by JATO Dynamics President Felipe Munoz) shows that SUVs account for 46 percent of global passenger car sales. Further sales were recorded in countries such as India, Germany, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Africa, Thailand and the Philippines. However, demand in the United States, the second largest market in the world, fell by 7%. China fell 2 percent to 10.4 million units.

But its rapid growth could be threatened by tighter regulations on pollution and weight.

Although SUVs have improved greatly in terms of emissions, they are still generally heavy vehicles that require larger engines. Emissions data released by JATO shows that all categories of SUVs (excluding luxury cars) experienced an average decrease in emissions in Europe between 2020 and 2021. However, the overall average of 107.9 g/km CO2 is clearly higher than city ​​cars and mini and compact cars, 76.9, 97.7, 97.6 g / km, respectively.

If this gap persists, governments in parts of Europe could start to “punish” SUVs for emissions and more.

SUVs have fueled the large investments required by automakers to move from the internal combustion engine sector to the pure electric sector. The many electrification plans announced by brands in Europe, the United States and Asia cannot be realized without the cash flow generated by the petrol and diesel SUVs.