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Transportation

Global Sales of Polluting SUVs Hit Record High in 2023, Data Shows (theguardian.com) 214

Posted by msmash from the troubling-signs dept.
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. From a report: 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.

There were more than 360m SUVs on the roads worldwide in 2023, producing 1bn tonnes of CO2 emissions, up about 10% on 2022. As a result, global oil consumption rose by 600,000 barrels a day, more than a quarter of total growth in oil demand, the IEA said. SUVs weigh 200-300kg more than an average medium-sized car and emit about 20% more CO2. In rich countries, almost 20m new SUVs were sold in 2023, surpassing a market share of 50% for the first time. Globally, 48% of new cars were SUVs and, including older cars, one in four cars on the road today are SUVs, according to the IEA.
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Global Sales of Polluting SUVs Hit Record High in 2023, Data Shows More

Global Sales of Polluting SUVs Hit Record High in 2023, Data Shows

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  • Polluting SUVs.

    • Re: Not just any SUVs (Score:5, Informative)

      by flyingfsck ( 986395 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @10:36AM (#64505271)
      The majority of SUVs are just ordinary sedans with slightly lifted suspension.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by e3m4n ( 947977 )
        Where I live people waste obscene money on the biggest of the big SUV. Nothing smaller than a 4Runner, Pilot, Escalade, or enormous Lexus SUV. I guess they need something big enough to carry both their fat asses, and their inflated egos. Parking lots of these 1200seat mega-churches full of $80k giant SUV. Must be part of that humility lesson.

    • Re:Not just any SUVs (Score:4)

      by TigerPlish ( 174064 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @10:53AM (#64505341)

      That's called "Slant" or "Bias."

      And, is present in all our media, trying to not-so-subtly steer your thinking.

    • More people might actually buy EV SUV's if they didn't cost $20,000 more on average than their ICE counterparts. I'm not ready to spend $60,000 on a Kia EV9 (for example), when I can get a similarly optioned Telluride for $40,000.

  • SUVs (Score:3, Interesting)

    by RaymondR127 ( 10096402 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @10:29AM (#64505259)

    are kinda meh. Never understood the appeal. I like cars. Lower to the ground, more stable, more fuel efficient. SUVs are like small trucks with their cargo inside the cab instead of outside.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by salimma ( 115327 )
      Crossovers strike a reasonable balance if you want to minimize exterior dimension but maximize interior volume - but yeah, beyond that I don't see the appeal (and want to downsize to a sedan (not much hope for getting estate / wagon in the US) as soon as our current crossover ages out (since we'd no longer need the carrying capacity by then). I cringe whenever we travel in a group and have to ask for an Uber XL in the US - more often than not you get a big SUV that has an uncomfortable ride and does not ev

    • Re: SUVs (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Larsrc ( 1285062 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @10:37AM (#64505279)

      Part of the reason they were introduced in the US was that they count as trucks, not cars, so they were allowed more emissions.

      • Re: SUVs (Score:5, Informative)

        by wiggles ( 30088 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @10:43AM (#64505291)

        Count as trucks, yes - and that provides another advantage - the Chicken Tax [wikipedia.org] prevents foreign competitors from selling foreign made trucks in the US, so the big 3 have an artificial advantage in that segment.

        • Toyota STILL makes the HiLux. ...which the Federal government says we can't have. I do NOT want a truck with four doors. Why do I need a truck with four doors? I want a truck!

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by GlennC ( 96879 )

            Why do I need a truck with four doors? I want a truck!

            So what you want is called a "regular cab" truck. It may also be called a "work truck." They're generally available with either 6 or 8 foot beds, bench seating in the single cab, and a minimum of extras.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by e3m4n ( 947977 )
          Thats not a problem for toyota since they Mfr in the US. But they still sell what people ask for. And everyone wants oversized tanks. At least I dont see as many Hummers now. For a while Land Rover and H2s were all the rage. Now its Escalade, Pilot, Suburban, and whatever the loser Lexus company rolls out. Lexus could shit on a rollerskate and someone would pay if it had the loser emblem on it.
    • No one wants a mini-van or station wagon, instead they want a truck frame with a mini-van body slapped on top. They also don't want the 4 cylinder fuel sipper to power it even though most will never tow with it, and fewer than that will ever see a dirt road making all that inefficient ground clearance useless as well.

      They may need a family mini-van but they will never buy one because they gotta look good. Once everyone could lease whatever they wanted because debt doesn't matter - price is no longer a co
      • Speak for yourself ... I want a minivan or a wagon. At least I'm moving to Poland, where Skoda hybrid wagons are still reasonably popular, so I'll be able to own one.
      • "4 cylinder fuel sipper" we have some pretty powerful 4 cylinders these days... sure, some people, myself included, used to have a love affair with V8's, but then we got V6's that were more powerful than our old V8's... nowadays you can get a 200 (or more!) 2 liter 4 cylinder (probably a turbo) that will due you nicely for 99% of your real driving... a 3 liter would get you that extra performance you may want for towing and still not be too rough on mileage. Of course, there are always those people that se

      • Re:SUVs (Score:4, Insightful)

        by tomz16 ( 992375 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @12:57PM (#64505709)

        More taxing won't help

        Disagree.... just make vehicle registration scale by miles driven annually * weight of vehicle (which is at least a linear approximation of both energy consumed and damage caused to roads), and watch those fleet-averaged curb weights go down with time the same way MPG has gone up. People ARE fundamentally motivated by money.

    • Re:SUVs (Score:4, Informative)

      by LazarusQLong ( 5486838 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @11:58AM (#64505533)
      well, as a direct result of my military service, i have a lot of knee problems, hence I need a higher vehicle with a larger drivers space... pretty much that means an SUV. I have a sedan right now, had an SUV before this car, because I wanted to be more efficient, but I have to move back to an SUV because right now, my sedan is actually painful to get into and out of and for longer periods of driving. something I never had with my earlier SUV. I am sure I am not the only one with these issues as 40% of the Light Infantry Soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division (my old unit and job) were reported as having knee conditions back when I was getting out.

      I prefer sports cars, really, and at this stage in my life, I can afford a Corvette (yeah, I know, doesn't compare with a Porsche or a Ferrari, but those are out of my price range), but I most likely will be in serious pain getting in and out so can't afford one for that reason!

      Test drove a 4Runner last summer, and didn't pull the trigger because, 18 MPG on a good day.

      I'd like an electric, but, as a previous poster pointed out, not the extra $20K for an electric one, plus, of course, I am one of the 17% that live in a rural community so I have to drive some many miles to a public charger, there aren't any at my work and an added cost would be getting the charger installed at my house ($2000 on average from what I see online).

      So, not everyone fits your demographic.

    • What if you like to go out on dirt roads far away from people and sleep in the car on those nights when you don't feel like setting up your sleep kit outside on the ground?

    • Depends. We use the cargo space a lot. It's nice that it is out if the weather and lockable.

      Anyone with a dog ought to have it in a crate - SUVs are ideal for that as well. If you do anything other than pure passenger transport, they are very practical.

      That said, I hate the fact that they keep getting bigger. Our 2008 RAV/4 was a good size. The new ones are fricking huge. Why???

  • See what "cars" is Ford making (Score:5, Informative)

    by itsme1234 ( 199680 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @10:36AM (#64505273)

    I dare you, just go to ford.com, vehicles, SUVs&Cars and be amazed! There's literally ONE car - and that's the Mustang!!!

    Then they're probably amazed that Tesla is worth more than Ford, GM, Stellantis, Honda, Volkswagen, BMW, BYD, Hyundai, and Kia combined.

    • It's definitely an effect of perverse incentives. Sedans generally cost the same amount to manufacture as an SUV, but for some reason the public is willing to spend a lot more on SUVs than sedans, making the SUVs more profitable.

      So you end up with car manufacturers incentivized to make SUVs and trucks instead of sedans. So now we are stuck in a situation where there just aren't enough sedans or smaller vehicles to buy even if you wanted one; you can't buy what isn't for sale.

      What's really sad is it shows

      • I've done that math before and depending on your perspective, it isn't worthwhile if you consider time to be money. If you assume a 25% increase in efficiency (my cars are lower than that) over the 15 mile trip and a 25 MPG car and $4 per gallon (a bit high for my area) it comes out to 15 / 25 * .25 * 4 = 60 cents saved per trip to drive slower. Looking at the average hours pay in the US of $28 an hour, 1.4 minutes lost is worth 28 / 60 * 1.4 = 65 cents per trip.

        OTOH, I don't really see my free time being

        • Regarding the "time is money" aspect, I might agree if that extra commute time resulted in decreased work time and hence income, but it doesn't. You would still work the same amount of time per day.

          I think a better argument would be "time VERSUS money" as your free time outside of work is decreased by the longer commute, not your working time. Is having that fraction of time used on a slightly longer commute and lost as free time worth the money saved?

          I equate it to paying delivery fees on food orders. Is

      • They don't make SUVs. They make cross-overs. They are unibody construction cars with a different shape. And yes, people will pay much more for them because the form factor is more functional. You can actually get things in and out of the trunk.
      • Actually a simple google shows the average USA'ian as purchasing a new car every 8 years. when you see 2-3 years ownership, those are actually leases and that is a special type of person, but the above statistic includes them as well. Currently (I imagine because of the high cost of new vehicles in the USA) is an increase in the time people own their vehicles for.

        REF: https://www.thezebra.com/resou... [thezebra.com]

        • me? I own my vehicles until on average 250,000 miles. my current 2011 Altima has 175,000 miles on it (I used to also have a BMW 750iL but that care cost to much for maintenance and needed it too often, so about 60,000 miles on that until I ditched it) and I have only done oil changes, tires and ONCE rotor and new brake pads. so, pretty low maintenance.

        • Actually a simple google shows the average USA'ian as purchasing a new car every 8 years.

          Seems about right. Those cars they are replacing still stay on the road for a while longer though.

          Average Age of Vehicles in U.S. Continues to Rise [caranddriver.com]

          I expect this trend to continue. New cars purchased today will still be on the road long past 2035. New ICE cars purchased in 2035 will in all likelihood still be on the road in 2050.

          • with the average cost of a new vehicle being on a meteoric rise, I believe you are 100% correct, and I agree, my experience is if you a) only use synthetic oil and b) change your oil religiously every 7000 miles at the most, your car/vehicle's engine should easily last well over 250,000 miles... oh, and never have an accident. My mom has had several accidents and driving her car, you can tell, even though she has always gotten it fixed at reputable shops, it seems some things just aren't going to ever be th

        • Actually a simple google shows the average USA'ian

          That's ok, you can still call us by our preferred name, you know...the moniker that is over 200 years old...Americans.

          Thank you.

    • Most of the "SUVs" on ford.com are cars in the shape of an SUV also known as a cross-over. The Bronco Sport (I believe the best selling of the vehicles) has a 1.5L engine that gets 26/28mpg. The city mileage is similar to a Camry but the highway mileage is, of course, worse due to the extra drag.

    • I dare you, just go to ford.com, vehicles, SUVs&Cars and be amazed! There's literally ONE car - and that's the Mustang!!!

      Then they're probably amazed that Tesla is worth more than Ford, GM, Stellantis, Honda, Volkswagen, BMW, BYD, Hyundai, and Kia combined.

      Tesla's "worth" is an absolute fantasy. That's not amazement it's market detachment considering how far behind they are in terms of deliveries and market share from ... everyone on that list.

      As for what Ford sells being a reflection of the company, no, it's a reflection of your country. When I go to Ford's website I get 1 SUV and 3.5 cars (Kuga, Focus, Mustang, and the Puma). I say 3.5 because the Puma is listed as an SUV but that's the European definition, which means it's about the size of an American sho

  • should change the rules (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Turkinolith ( 7180598 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @10:43AM (#64505289)
    If they want to reduce pollution, they should have considered years ago to revise the EPA rules on what defines a truck vs a sedan when this whole "loophole" was pointed out and the auto makers started pushing SUV's in order to get around those stringent requirements.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      Yep, if human civilization wants to survive, it should have realized there is a problem decades ago. As it is, it is completely fine to not survive.

  • ...it would then be okay?

  • What else is new? There are a few legitimate applications, but not nearly in the number of SVUs sold.

    • What else is new? There are a few legitimate applications, but not nearly in the number of SVUs sold.

      Hey, in a FREE country, people don't need a reason to buy and use what they want, you know?

      It's a sad world where all one could buy and use was something utility.

  • Try to find a decent 4 door sedan (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cbass377 ( 198431 ) on Tuesday May 28, 2024 @11:12AM (#64505381)

    Try to find a decent 4 door sedan that doesn't cost as much as a compact SUV. Often the price is the same. Since there are so many SUVs on the road, it becomes a visibility issue. If you are the only one at the traffic light in a sedan or hatchback, good luck seeing around the SUVs to turn left.

    I love a full size sedan, especially for longer trips. I like a comfortable quiet ride. But when the choice is a Camry vs a Rav4, for the same price, you have to go Rav4. If for the resale value only.

    • The 'crossovers' aren't actually the problem, the Rav4 Hybrid gets near 40mpg. It is also more useful than a sedan since it is a 'wagon'.

      The problem is the 3 row SUVs that are still getting 20mpg like trucks.
      • The Mazda CX-90 gets 24/27mpg. The same vehicle could be setup to get 30+mpg but nobody would want it. The 2.5L turbo engine is amazing. You can feel your head push against the seat when you hit the gas. It's not much difference between the CX-5. Making a vehicle longer doesn't tend to use a lot more gas because the frontal area that produces drag is essentially the same. Extra weight doesn't matter as much as extra drag at highway speeds. The CX-90 PHEV gets 56mpge.

        The solution isn't to push peopl

    • good luck seeing around the SUVs to turn left.

      If you need to see "around" another car to turn left while standing at a traffic light then the person who designed the intersection should be hung drawn and quartered. Cars don't make your road unsafe, unsafe road and intersection designs make your road unsafe.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by e3m4n ( 947977 )
      Resale is huge. The depreciation on a camry is almost twice as much as a Highlander. Technically the Highlander is the SUV equivalent of a Camry. Same wheelbase and leg room. The Rav4 is the same roominess as a corolla. Im in the same boat. My wife leases a Highlander. She works from home a lot so its mostly for trips. The leg room is nice for trips. My day-to-day is a 2013 VW Passat TDI. 47mpg on the highway and thats most of what I do. Not much local commute.

  • Global heating -- is that different from global warming? I'm getting confused.

  • Sure, I'd like to see more wagon options, but one major reason SUVs sell is because people like them. They like the higher driving position, they fit with the current esthetic for vehicles, they feel they are safer for the driver and occupants and they like the power delivered by the V-whatever.

    When the electric equivalents come out (and there aren't that many yet) they will also be energy guzzlers compared to smaller cars and people will still buy them because they like bigger vehicles

    Anecdotal evidence, I

  • I just bought a vw taos today. It's getting 28/36MPG vs my old car, a mustang which got 19/25.

    There are cars that score a lot worse than crossover/small suvs.

  • SUVs are also far more dangerous [www.cbc.ca] to pedestrians and cyclists than sedans.

    But of course in the USA, pedestrians and cyclists count for nothing, so...

  • Before the SUV was the "in" thing everyone wanted to buy, we still had just as many people interested in driving larger vehicles for a number of reasons. All we've seen in recent years (speaking for America here, at least -- as that's where I live and it's what I'm familiar with) is a consolidation.

    The minivan used to be *everywhere*. Practically every family with kids owned one for a while! Gas mileage on a minivan is really no better than it is for most SUVs on the road today.

    Before that? We had a lot of

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