With warming the world, why is more SUV selling?

Looking around the world, more and more sports municipal vehicles (SUVs) are spotted on roads – and beyond.

This, despite the predictions of the United Nations, is an inevitable turn towards smaller and environmentally friendly vehicles due to the urgency of the climate crisis and the growing costs of living.

This turn did not achieve: globally, 54% of the 2024 cars sold. Were SUVs, including gasoline, diesel, hybrids and electric brands. This is an increase of three percentage points compared to 2023 and five percentage points compared to the year before, according to Globaldata.

Of the SUVs that are now on the road – both new and older models – 95% worse fossil fuels, according to International Energy Agency (IEA).

Manufacturers, however, say that their new fleets of such cars are increasingly becoming electricity without being sold all SUVs cause the shows up.

The SUV is hard to miss. They are heavy and bigger with spacious interiors, higher soil space and high driving with a better view of the road, although there are fewer versions on the market.

The environmental campaign, such as Greenpeace, see SUVs as one of the villain of the climate crisis and claim that their production consumes significant resources with respect to their size.

Experts also say that they need larger batteries to power electric versions, which then further increases demand for critical minerals, which performs even more pressure on the planet.

It was thought to be a momentum with smaller, energy -efficient electric vehicles. But the sale of electric vehicles in size (EVS) has actually decreased in the main markets such as Japan and Germany, and their sales growth has slowed down in India.

And in Europe, SUV sales surpassed those EV despite the indications more than half a decade of the opposite trend ago. In Europe in 2018, 3.27 million small Hatchbacks – and those running fossil fuels and those by electricity – was sold, while 2.13 million were sold in 2024, states Globaldata.

His manager of the sales forecast Sammy Chan said: “This is part of the alternative of SUVs offered in smaller [sizes] whose sales in Europe has now increased to almost 2.5 million in 2024 with 1.5 million in 2018. “

China recorded the largest sale of almost 11.6 million SUVs in 2024, followed by the United States, India and Germany, according to Globaldata.

Industry experts say that people’s buying power improves in many economies that appear quickly, making SUVs more likely to choose a car.

“Manufacturers respond to consumer demand and, more and more, drivers attract double vehicles with regard to their convenience, comfort and a good view of the road,” said Mike Hawes, who is the executive director of the manufacturer and engine trader (SMMT).

Auto industry analysts also say that manufacturers attract high profit margins than SUVs: they can make more money than SUVs even though they earn fewer vehicles.

“In recent years, the industry has launched demand through huge marketing and advertising campaigns,” said Dudley Curtis, a communication manager at the European Transport Safety Council.

“SUVs have offered an easy way to charge more for a vehicle that makes the same [as others]”He said.

Due to the strong growth of SUVS sales, IEA says that the oil consumption of these vehicles increased by 600,000 barrels per day globally between 2022 and 2023, which accounts for more than a quarter of the total annual increase in global oil demand.

“If it is classified as countries, the Global Fleet SUV would be the fifth world’s largest CO2 emiterion, which exceeded Japan’s shows and various other major economies,” said Apostolic Petropous, an Energy Modeller with IEA.

The agency says that even in comparisons with medium-sized cars dealing with gasoline and diesel, SUVs burn 20% more such fuels because on average weighing up to 300 kg.

In fact, road transport is responsible for more than 12% of global carbon emissions, which is the main driver of global warming. Scientists say that all sectors must quickly decarbonize if we want to avoid a climate disaster.

But the industry representatives say in response that all SUVs are now selling the increase in emissions.

“About two in five of them [new] Vehicle models are zero emissions because their body type is well subjected to electrification with a longer battery range that can convince consumers concerned about the filling of accessibility, “said HAWS from SMMT.

“This has led to the average emission of new double CO2 cars more than halving since 2000, helping the segment to lead the decarbonisation of mobility in the UK.”

Although the vast majority of new SUVs have still burned fossil fuels, IEA officials have said that over 20% of SUV sold in 2023, which is completely electric, which is 2% in 2018.

As for the hybrids that can be launched both on electric and fossil fuels, studying in Europe by the International Pure Council of 2022 found only about 30% of the total distance taken in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (all kinds, including SUV), on average.

Similar results were found in other large economies like the USA -ai China.

Generally, return assistance to SUVs, some experts say, caused a significant failure in decarbonisation of the transport sector.

“Trend to heavier and less effective vehicles such as SUVs (in the countries where it happens) has largely canceled improvements of energy consumption and emissions achieved elsewhere in the world’s passenger cars,” IEA said.

The Climate Change Committee in the UK had a similar finding in its report 2024 on decarbonisation in the country.