Are SUVs really worse for the planet than regular small- to medium-sized cars?

There are any number of reasons for our current appetite for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), be it practicality in terms of space, leg room, boot space, or in some of the seven-seater models, the capacity to fit more passengers. There’s also the perceived safety that a bigger car would bring in case of an accident, and although many will never be driven on surfaces more challenging than a dirt road, the off-road capabilities of some models are definitely appealing to most potential car buyers. Then, there is the matter of taste: Judging by the sales growth and the variety of options available on the market, they’re the flavour of the moment.

2017, 2018 and 2019 marked a steady decline in global passenger car sales, from 81.1-million new cars around the world in 2017 to 80.6-million in 2018 and by November 2019, it was estimated that the year would close at 77.5-million new units sold. 

At first glance, that might seem to fit into the narrative of a world reducing its dependence on individual car ownership and a possible decrease in the growth of demand for fuel. Combine that with the targets set by manufacturers to increase their offering of electric vehicles and it may appear as though we might be headed towards a reduction in CO2 emissions from passenger cars.

In line with objectives set out by the Paris Accord, the top 20 automotive manufactures have presented plans to invest heavily in electric vehicles, estimating that by 2030, they’ll be selling 20-million a year, a tenfold increase from 2018’s paltry 2-million. However, according to a study conducted and published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in October 2019, the growth in the popularity of the SUV is likely to offset any carbon emissions savings that might come as a result of the projected growth of electric vehicle sales.

Indeed, the IEA study says that, “there are now over 200-million SUVs around the world (one of which is owned by this writer - disclosure), up from about 35-million in 2010, accounting for 60% of the increase in the global car fleet since 2010. Around 40% of annual car sales today are SUVs, compared with less than 20% a decade ago.” By the end of 2018, SUVs accounted for  27% of new car sales in South Africa, which is lower than the 40% global average. The United States and China topped the list with 42% and 48% respectively.” 

To illustrate the shift in consumer appetite, Volkswagen, one of the world’s best known car brands, is a good example: prior to the 2002 launch of the Volkswagen Touareg, and with the exception of 1969’s Type 181, the brand did not have SUVs as a significant part of its offering. However, according to a 2019 report on the company’s website titled “SUV offensive, how we are strengthening the core business”, such has been the success of their SUVs that “the brand plans to have over 30 SUV models on offer worldwide by 2025. During the same year, Volkswagen expects every second Volkswagen passenger car to be an SUV.” 

The IEA report notes that, due to their size and weight, on average, SUVs consume 25% more energy than medium-sized cars, making them responsible for 3.3-million barrels a day growth in oil demand from passenger cars in the period from 2010 to 2018.

In addition, global growth in SUV sales over the past decade also led to an increase of carbon emissions from the transportation sector, from 0.55 of to 0.7 gigatons of CO2, effectively making SUVs “the second-largest contributor to the increase of global CO2 emissions since 2010 after the power sector, but ahead of heavy industry (including iron and steel, cement, aluminium), as well as trucks and aviation”, A finding which the researchers, Laura Cozzi, Chief Energy Modeler and Apostolos Petropoulos, Energy Modeler Commentary, described as “nothing short of surprising”.

International non-governmental environmental organisation Greenpeace puts much of the responsibility on car manufacturers for what they call the “SUVization” of the car industry, claiming that according to their unpublished analysis of Nielsen data, “SUVs are more heavily advertised than any other car types”. They also highlight the offering of SUV versions of popular car models like the Fiat 500 and the Mini, which both also offer bigger models, further claiming that “even if you don’t buy a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), your options for a ‘small car’ are disappearing as cars get bigger, and this is a huge problem”.

The question of personal versus institutional or corporate responsibility is a complex one that invites contradictory views and heated debates. However, considering that CO2 emissions continue to break records, and the very significant contribution the transportation sector has made to those numbers, our appetite for larger cars, be it for practicality, luxury or status, is at odds with the growing movement towards more sustainable choices in pursuit of solutions to the very time-sensitive climate crisis. ML