Half of all new cars are now SUVs, making them a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis, say experts
Sales of SUVs hit a new record in 2023, making up half of all new cars sold globally, data has revealed. Experts warned that the rising sales of the large, heavy vehicles is pushing up the carbon emissions that drive global heating.
The analysis, by the International Energy Agency, found that the rising emissions from SUVs in 2023 made up 20% of the global increase in CO2, making the vehicles a major cause of the intensifying climate crisis. If SUVs were a country, the IEA said, they would be the world’s fifth-largest emitter of CO2, ahead of the national emissions of both Japan and Germany.
Climate-fuelled extreme weather is increasing, with urgent cuts in emissions needed. But emissions from the global transport sector have risen fast in recent years, outside of the Covid pandemic. SUV sales rose 15% in 2023, compared with a 3% rise for conventional cars.
My impression is that every generation that has kids wants to drive something other what their parents drove, because doing so would make them stodgy and boring.
Go back to the 1960s, and the “family vehicle” was the station wagon.
Then it became the minivan for the next generation.
Then the SUV for the next.
I’m not sure I’d call what I usually see driving around now an SUV…rather, crossovers.
I think that there might be a certain size that is just comfortable for a car. Elderly people really can’t get into small micro-cars, like a Honda Fit, it’s hard to maneuver into them if an older person has joint pain. I think that’s why crossovers are popular, they’re just regulars cars that have been given a 6inch lift and a hatchback to make storage easier.
For sure, most of them are crossovers. And get decent gas mileage compared to real SUVs. When I was a kid, an SUV was like, an Explorer. Or a Tahoe. My unibody Equinox is basically just a tall station wagon. I’d say my Traverse might border on SUV with its AWD and towing package, but it is still a unibody and has a limited towing capacity. And it gets at least as good of mileage as my old Pontiac G6 that it replaced.
Station wagons remain extremely popular in Europe (even though SUVs have eaten a good bit of their share). It’s the most sensible if you need more space than a hatchback without all the stupid compromises from SUVs (also smaller SUVs provide much less space than a good wagon). I’d only prefer a small van like a recent Citroen Berlingo, but they are expensive, older ones are not that economical and also not comfortable/“sexy”.
Crossovers are just taller station wagons.