Photo: Audi
Stop me if you heard this one before, but sport utility vehicles (including passenger car-based crossovers) are getting more popular with each and every passing day. It’s hard to tell how long it will be before the bubble eventually bursts, but as things stand now, demand for SUVs keeps on rising.
The full picture is best painted by a study from IHS Markit. According to the cited report, “more than two-thirds of sport utility vehicle (SUV) and crossover utility vehicle (CUV) owners in the U.S. who returned to market in the first four months of 2017 acquired another new SUV or CUV.” In fact, consumer loyalty for this variety of automobiles is at an all-time high.
IHS Markit underlines that loyalty for SUVs and CUVs in the United States has grown from under 53 percent in 2013 to 63 percent through the month of April 2017. That’s not only higher than the industry average (52.6) and for pickups (51), but quite the opposite to the downward spiral the sedan genre finds itself on. Regarding the three-box body style, loyalty in the U.S. has slumped from 56.2 percent in 2012 to 48.6 in April 2017.
Every gearhead who knows his cars is aware which is the better driver’s car between a generic SUV and a generic sedan. The reasons why the sedan is losing ground to the utility vehicle are pretty straightforward: the practicality of the longroof design combined with the jacked-up ride height, the benefits of all-wheel-drive, and the coolness of the lifestyle-oriented vehicle image.
Consumer demand also made waves in how automakers are doing business. Take the likes of Bentley and its Audi Q7-based Bentayga ultra-luxury SUV. Then there are the exotic automakers that can hardly wait to jump on the bandwagon: Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, even Ferrari for crying out loud! Lower down the automotive food chain, “regular” automakers are imbuing their sport utility vehicles with more sportiness.
The Dodge Durango SRT comes to mind, holding the title of America’s fastest three-row SUV. There is also Jeep, who took things up to Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat levels with the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. After performance, the next big thing for sport utility vehicles is electrification. In all respect, SUV loyalty will continue for the foreseeable future, at least until the price of oil gets too high for the comfort of utility vehicle owners.
IHS Markit underlines that loyalty for SUVs and CUVs in the United States has grown from under 53 percent in 2013 to 63 percent through the month of April 2017. That’s not only higher than the industry average (52.6) and for pickups (51), but quite the opposite to the downward spiral the sedan genre finds itself on. Regarding the three-box body style, loyalty in the U.S. has slumped from 56.2 percent in 2012 to 48.6 in April 2017.
Every gearhead who knows his cars is aware which is the better driver’s car between a generic SUV and a generic sedan. The reasons why the sedan is losing ground to the utility vehicle are pretty straightforward: the practicality of the longroof design combined with the jacked-up ride height, the benefits of all-wheel-drive, and the coolness of the lifestyle-oriented vehicle image.
Consumer demand also made waves in how automakers are doing business. Take the likes of Bentley and its Audi Q7-based Bentayga ultra-luxury SUV. Then there are the exotic automakers that can hardly wait to jump on the bandwagon: Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce, even Ferrari for crying out loud! Lower down the automotive food chain, “regular” automakers are imbuing their sport utility vehicles with more sportiness.
The Dodge Durango SRT comes to mind, holding the title of America’s fastest three-row SUV. There is also Jeep, who took things up to Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat levels with the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. After performance, the next big thing for sport utility vehicles is electrification. In all respect, SUV loyalty will continue for the foreseeable future, at least until the price of oil gets too high for the comfort of utility vehicle owners.
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