This controversial car model tops the sales charts in Europe for the first time

The speed at which SUVs are climbing the sales charts is impressive. Currently, 51 percent of new cars sold are SUVs. In the first half of 2022, the share of SUVs in new sales was ‘only’ 48 percent. Auto News Europe reports this based on figures from Dataforce.

The market share of the SUV and crossover grew by 23 percent, compared to 17 percent for the car market as a whole. It should be noted that the biggest gainer overall was the Tesla Model Y. This purely electric car was also the best-selling car in the world in the first quarter, but you may wonder to what extent this is an SUV.

The Tesla Model Y has had a new owner 138,000 times in the past six months. The Volkswagen T-Roc finishes in second place with 104,465 registrations, followed by the Toyota Yaris Cross (96,849 units sold). The top 10 is further completed by the VW Tiguan, Dacia Duster, Hyundai Tucson, Peugeot 2008, Kia Sportage, Renault Captur, and the Ford Puma.

The best-selling cars are therefore mainly small SUVs with relatively small and economical engines. In the first half of 2023, 1.13 million units were sold in this SUV category. Also in the second largest category we find non-typical SUVs, due to which they do not have huge dimensions and thirsty engines, because that is the category of ‘compact SUVs’ with a total of 999,000 units sold.

The popularity of SUVs is striking. Critics often regard them as antisocial cars that, due to their extra weight and height, usually cause victims to fall into other cars. Moreover, they are not welcome in many cities because of their size and weight and because they are extra dangerous for vulnerable road users. They are also the favorite victims of an environmental movement like Tire Extinguishers, which regularly deflates the tires of SUVs. They mainly see the SUV as a disaster for the climate due to their fuel-guzzling engines.