‘Chelsea tractors’ power ahead as global sales of SUVs overtake conventional cars for the first time
- Sports utility vehicles represented 51 per cent of the total new cars sold in 2022
Global sales of heavier SUV cars overtook conventional cars for the first time last year – hampering efforts to cut carbon emissions.
A report shows sports utility vehicle purchases represented 51 per cent of the total new cars sold in 2022, a trend that experts expect to continue rising.
Despite jibes of being ‘Chelsea tractors’ and never going off-road in Britain, seven of the top ten cars sold this year have been SUVs.
As governments gear up for next week’s COP28 climate change summit in Dubai, the comfort of these vehicles has come at a cost to binding net zero targets, according to research group the Global Fuel Economy Initiative.
The shift to larger, more powerful vehicles has led to increased oil consumption and direct CO2 emissions, the report claimed.
Despite jibes of being ‘Chelsea tractors’ and never going off-road in Britain, seven of the top ten cars sold this year have been SUVs (Stock Image)
A report shows sports utility vehicle purchases represented 51 per cent of the total new cars sold in 2022, a trend that experts expect to continue rising
Without the worldwide appetite for SUVs, fuel consumption for combustion engine vehicles could have been cut by nearly a third between 2010 to 2022.
The report reveals the average weight of a car reached an all-time high last year – at 1.5 tons – roughly double that of a post-war Morris Minor.
Popular ultra-heavy SUVs on British streets can weigh nearly three tons.
The shift to SUVs is partially offset by the uptake of electric cars but these weigh more than conventional combustion engine vehicles due to the battery.
A US report has revealed SUVs with a bonnet height more than 40 inches are 45 per cent more likely to kill pedestrians in crashes than standard cars.
Sheila Watson, of road safety charity FIA Foundation which funded the report, said: ‘Vehicle size is a huge problem threatening many aspects of sustainable mobility, from climate to road safety.’ One of the report recommendations is to reform vehicle taxes so weight is included as a criteria. Three-quarters of SUVs sold in the UK are registered to drivers living in towns and cities.
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