SUVs ARE AN environmental and social scourge. Whether we ban them in urban areas outright, as is being proposed in Germany, or we introduce new forms of taxation to regulate their weight, height and width, something must be done to stop the trend of excessively large passenger cars dominating our streets.
Recent figures show that 58% of all new car sales in 2022 were SUV type passenger vehicles. While those who buy them offer justifications such as the comfort of driving with greater visibility and a sense of safety, in practice it is the relentless advertising spend per vehicle that is driving up sales.
Estimates vary across the EU, but in France, in 2019 it was estimated that over €2300 was spent on advertising each individual SUV (a sum which would buy you a second-hand diesel car quite easily).