SUVs, symbols of status and comfort, continue to dominate the global automobile market. However, this continued growing popularity comes at a high environmental cost. With CO2 emissions rising sharply, this type of vehicle poses serious problems in the fight against climate change.
Developments in the automotive sector are at the heart of the global context of energetic transition. Electric cars, which are evolving and becoming more and more ecological, as well as new battery technologies, are the driving forces behind this revolution. However, despite these advances, certain segments of the automobile market continue to pose challenges environmental problems.
Despite some cities like Paris wanting to chase them away, SUVs have reached a record share of 48% of global car sales in 2023. According to a study by the International Energy Agency, this trend toward larger and heavier vehicles is fueled by factors such as social status, increased comfort and aggressive marketing strategies by automakers. However, this popularity comes with increase in CO2 emissions.
SUVs emit more CO2 than Japan
According to this study, in 2023, SUVs were responsible for more than 20% of the increase in global CO2 emissions due to energy consumption. With more than 360 million of these types of vehicles on the roads, they have emitted approximately one billion tons of carbon dioxide Last year. For comparison, they outperform emissions from countries like Japan. In reality, if they were a country, they would rank in 5th position, just after China, the United States, India and Russia. Due to their weight and size, they consume more fuel and produce around 20% more CO2 than an average-sized car.
even though Electric SUVs represent a growing share of new registrations, their environmental impact remains worrying. Around 55% of new electric cars sold in 2023 were SUVs. However, these vehicles require larger batteries and more materials, which directly increases their carbon footprint. Efforts to improve fuel efficiency and electrification are often overshadowed by the trend toward producing larger vehicles.
Source: iea