SUVs officially become Britain’s favourite type of car for the first time on record

SUVs have become Britain’s best-selling type of new car for the first time on record, official sales figures reveal. 

A third of new cars entering the road last year were ‘Chelsea Tractors’, snatching the mantle of most popular segment from superminis, which had topped sales charts for decades.

SUVs accounted for 33 per cent of all registrations in 2024, up from just 12 per cent a decade earlier, according to Britain’s auto trade body.

The sales statistics also show that eight of the ten most commonly bought new cars last year were crossovers or 4X4s as once-popular conventional hatchbacks and saloons fell down the pecking order. 

While the change of guard suggests a greater appetite for jacked-up vehicles, the growth in SUV sales has partly been driven by manufacturers reducing availability of small models in recent years.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said the shift to bigger motors is also a consequence of the transition to EVs, with around two in five battery cars in showrooms today being SUV body styles that can accommodate large batteries to provide longer ranges.

The increasing popularity of these vehicles comes despite the threat of restrictions and supplementary charges; major UK cities are considering Parisian-style additional parking tariffs for SUVs, some councils have already banned the biggest models from public car parks, and experts have called for car taxation to impose bigger levies on these heavier motors.

We analyse the data and speak to experts about what’s driving Britain’s appetite for SUVs… 

Rise of the Chelsea Tractor: How SUVs jumped to the top of UK sales charts 

Historical analysis of UK car registrations over the last 12 years by This is Money shows the rapid acceleration in sales of SUVs.

In 2013, SUVs – which are listed as ‘dual purpose’ cars by the SMMT – accounted for just one in ten new models making their way onto UK roads while superminis (35.9 per cent) like the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa and small family hatchbacks (26 per cent) including the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus had the stronghold on the market with three in five registrations.

However, increasing demand for SUVs has seen this body shape swallow-up market share through the 2010s and 2020s.

By 2018, SUVs made up a fifth of new cars sales. A year later they accounted for a quarter of registrations.

In 2023 the SUV overtook the compact family hatchback to become the nation’s second favourite car body type. And just 12 months later it went one better to top the sales charts by dethroning superminis.

Supermini supremacy ended with just 27.5 per cent share of sales in 2024 versus 32.6 per cent for its larger counterpart. 

And the rise of SUVs hasn’t just eaten into the dominance of superminis and small hatchbacks; every other new model segment has posted declines in demand over the last decade.

Market share of city cars like the Fiat 500 and Kia Picanto shrank from 3.4 per cent in 2014 to just 0.8 per cent last year.

Larger family hatches and saloons – the BMW 3 Series and Tesla Model 3, for instance – have fallen from 9.2 per cent to just 6.1 per cent over the same period, while executive cars (BMW 5 Series) and luxury saloons (Mercedes S-Class) account for smaller shares of UK registrations.

MPVs, which have fizzled away in terms of availability, have also posted big declines, with cars like the Ford Galaxy dipping from a 6.7 per cent market share in 2014 to only 3.9 per cent in 2024. The electric Tesla Model Y will have contributed to the majority of SMMT registrations in the MPV segment last term, though most consumers consider it an SUV rather than a people carrier.

Sports car sales are down by market share, too – from 1.7 to just 0.9 per cent between 2014 and 2024.

Car makers appeasing SUV demand with wider choice

The rise in SUV sales is very much a chicken and egg scenario. 

While there’s clearly plenty of demand from drivers, car makers are feeding appetite by offering a wider range of jacked-up vehicles of all sizes – and at the same time removing more traditional body styles from showrooms.

This is Money carried out market analysis of the top 10 car manufacturers by sales in the UK last year and it paints a clear picture that brands are focusing on delivering an SUVs to meet demand.

Volkswagen, Britain’s favourite car firm amassing 166,304 passenger vehicle registrations last year, has a choice of 10 different SUVs across its model line-up of 23 cars. 

This means SUVs make up 44 per cent of its availability.

BMW (125,265 registrations in 2024) is second in the order by manufacturer – a third – 11 out of 33 – of its models are SUVs.

Third in the charts is Audi (122,431); the luxury German maker currently offers 11 different SUV options across 24 models – that’s 46 per cent of its new-car availability.

Rounding out the top 10 makers by UK registrations is Kia, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and MG. 

Most have ranges heavily bias towards SUVs and crossovers.

MG has the fewest options in its line-up (29 per cent) while four out of five Nissans currently on sale fit into this segment. 

Even luxury sports car brands including Aston Martin (DBX), Bentley (Bentayga), Ferrari (Purosangue), Lamborghini (Urus), Maserati (Levante) and Porsche (Macan and Cayenne) offer SUV models today.  

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, told This is Money: ‘Manufacturers respond to consumer demand and, increasingly, drivers are attracted to ‘dual purpose’ [SUV] vehicles given their practicality, comfort and good view of the road.’

Hawes said the drive towards battery electric cars is also accelerating SUV demand. 

‘Importantly, around two in five of these vehicle models are zero emission as their body type lends itself well to electrification with longer battery range that can reassure consumers concerned about charging accessibility. 

‘This has led to the average CO2 emissions of new SUVs more than halving since 2000, helping the segment lead the decarbonisation of UK road mobility.’

SUVs and crossovers dominate model sales charts 

The SMMT’s 2024 statistics show that eight out of 10 of the top selling car models in 2024 were SUVs or crossovers – with just the Volkswagen Polo (supermini) and Golf (small family hatchback) infiltrating the order.

The best-selling car of 2024 was the Ford Puma crossover, followed by the Kia Sportage and Nissan Qashqai – both hugely popular family SUVs.

The Nissan Juke, Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Tucson, MG HS and Volvo XC40 SUVs took fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth respectively.

Volvo’s appearance in the list is notable by the fact the Swedish brand recently reduced its car range to almost entirely SUVs in the UK. 

Wind the clocks back a decade and the segments making up the list of best sellers turns on its head.

Just two SUV/crossover type models made the list of 10 most popular models of 2014 – the Nissan Qashqai (eighth) and Juke (tenth).

Instead, the league table was dominated by the likes of the Ford Fiesta and Focus, Vauxhall Corsa and Astra, VW Golf and Polo, Audi A3 and Fiat’s 500.

This shows the dramatic shift change in motorists’ appetite for new models in the space of only 10 years. 

Modern SUVs – why are they so popular? Experts explain…

The origin of SUVs dates back to the 4X4 military vehicles of WWII, with Jeep coining the term ‘Sport Utility Vehicle’ back in the 1970s.

But it’s the new generation of SUVs taking off in the early 2010s that have spearheaded the recent craze.

Today, everything from compact crossovers to hulking Range Rovers fall into the SUV category, with drivers buying into the more rugged body shapes, elevated ride height, improved visibility over the road, and extra interior and luggage space they perceive them to offer.

Enhanced safety – or the feeling or being better protected by a larger car – is another factor which attracts buyers.

Stuart Masson, editorial director at consumer website The Car Expert, said it was ‘inevitable’ that SUVs would eventually overtake traditional hatchbacks to become the UK’s favourite type of vehicle.

‘It’s partly a definition issue,’ he explained to This is Money. 

‘SUVs are no longer truck-like off-road vehicles – the default “family car” of 2025 is a mid-size SUV/crossover style vehicle that looks chunky and tough but is basically just a jacked-up hatchback with some extra body cladding.

‘There’s also a fashion direction based on our love for all things “lifestyle” and a move away from anything seen as formal. 

‘Driving an SUV is a bit like wearing a Barbour jacket to pop down to the pub or Lycra leggings instead of proper trousers – it’s a statement of freedom, even if the reality has now become almost the exact opposite.’

A desire to break away from the sort of cars that our parents drove is also steering the market in this direction, Masson said. 

‘Drivers are rejecting saloons and estates in favour of SUVs, which largely didn’t exist back in the 1990s when dad drove a Ford Mondeo and mum had an old Peugeot 205.

‘There’s also the argument for a greater desire for ever-larger cars. 

‘SUVs are generally no longer or wider than equivalent saloons or estates, and they’re certainly no roomier inside, but their extra height and bulked-up styling makes them feel larger. 

‘The extra height is also a popular feature for many drivers as it gives them a better view of the road, although it certainly does nothing for their driving characteristics.’

Finally, Masson points out that once-popular small hatchbacks are being culled and replaced by car makers with ‘compact crossovers’ with the same proportions but an elevated ride height to give the impression of an SUV. 

‘The best-selling Ford Fiesta has been consigned to history, replaced at the top of the sales charts by the Ford Puma, which is little more than a Fiesta that’s been pumped up and rebooted to look tougher,’ he explains.

Erin Baker, editorial director at the nation’s largest online car marketplace Auto Trader, says because cars classed as SUVs have gotten ‘smaller in size and cheaper in price’ they have also become more attractive. 

‘One notable example is the Toyota Aygo X, which is the size of a city car but marketed as a crossover SUV and relatively inexpensive,’ Erin told us.

‘With the growing number of competitive finance offers found on these types of vehicles, this has made SUVs even more accessible for consumers.

‘SUVs were the most viewed body type in 2024 on our platform with 708million advert views showing that Britain’s love affair with SUVs show no signs of slowing down anytime soon.’ 

Antony Diggins, managing director, Warrantywise, warns the growth of the SUV segment will ultimately have a knock-on effect for the second-hand market and could see running costs rise in the future.

Taking into account the added weight and complexities SUVs can bring, drivers should be aware that repair bills for these larger vehicles could be higher than those for a traditional hatchback or saloon.

If the current sales trend for SUVs continues the direction it is going, three quarters of new car registrations will be made up of SUVs by 2027, environmental think tank Transport & Environment predicts. 

It is among a number of green campaign groups frustrated by the ongoing rise in demand for SUVs – and blames ministers for it.

‘The huge growth in large, polluting SUVs over the past decade is a direct result of the UK government failing to tax these vehicles adequately compared to smaller, lighter models,’ Anna Krajinska, T&E UK director told This is Money. 

‘Even with recent changes to Vehicle Excise Duty, the UK still has some of the lowest tax rates for large SUVs in Europe. 

‘This trend is bad for both the climate and consumers, as cars are becoming more expensive and more polluting. 

‘As we transition to electric vehicles, it’s essential that car makers prioritise affordable, smaller EVs to ensure fair access to clean transport. 

‘To support this shift, the government must act by increasing taxes on high-polluting SUVs.’

A report by the International Energy Agency last year claimed large, heavy passenger vehicles were responsible for ‘over 20 per cent of the growth in global energy-related CO2 emissions’ in 2023.

‘If SUVs were a country, they would be the world’s fifth largest emitter of CO2,’ it stated.

‘[They] weigh 200-300kg more than an average medium-sized car, and typically take up nearly 0.3 m2 more space – emitting roughly 20 per cent more carbon dioxide. 

‘The trend towards heavier and less fuel-efficient cars increases energy demand, including oil and electricity use, as well as demand for basic metals and critical minerals needed for battery production. 

‘Over the course of 2022 and 2023, global oil consumption directly related to SUVs rose by a total of over 600,000 barrels per day, accounting for more than a quarter of the overall annual growth in oil demand,’ it said.

Greenpeace UK’s senior transport campaigner, Paul Morozzo, also lambasted the drive towards SUV models, telling us: ‘Bigger cars and bigger engines result in higher emissions, which creates bigger problems when it comes to the climate emergency. 

‘SUVs also create bigger potholes and bigger safety risks, given they take up more room on the road.’

Paul adds: ‘The government should put taxation measures in place that both encourage the shift to electric vehicles and discourage larger vehicles of all types. 

‘But the massive surge in demand that the car industry has created for these behemoths through slick advertising, shows that they can create demand for something that no one was previously asking for.’ 

SUVs might be popular but they’re under threat of parking bans and tax surcharges

While British motorists are snapping up SUVs in record numbers, they are doing so at a time when authorities and regulators are looking at new ways to clampdown on the use of large cars, especially in urban areas. 

A number of UK cities are said to be considering implementing a ‘Land Rover Tax’ similar to the one recently applied in Paris, which triples parking fees for SUV-style cars.

Cars weighing 1.6 tonnes or more have to pay an eye-watering €18 (£15) an hour for parking in Paris’ city centre – three times the standard €6 (£5) charge.

While the pivotal aim is to reduce pollution levels in the French capital by hammering the most emitting vehicle types, the move is also designed to prevent SUVs taking up space in the metropolis.

Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo argued that they take up too much space on narrow Parisian streets, are too polluting and ‘threaten our health and our planet,’ and cause more traffic accidents than smaller cars.

Last year, T&E reported that, due to the popularity of large SUVs, new cars are getting 1cm wider every two years.

It found that the average new car has swollen to 180.3cm – or 200cm with its wing mirrors out – but took aim at ‘mega SUVs’, which measure in at 220cm wide, for bullying other road users, particularly cyclists, off the street.

While width issues can make parking a large SUV a nightmare for owners and result in fines of up to £150 if their SUV doesn’t fit in an allocated bay, it can also get drivers banned from car parks.

A freedom of information request carried out by Autocar last year found that a number of councils have added rules around vehicle length to their own car parks in addition to the more commonly seen weight and height restrictions.

It’s not just bans either, as many councils are already requiring SUVs to pay more to park in council car parks. Other councils such as Cardiff and Bristol are looking into higher permits for SUVs.

Cardiff could require drivers to pay more for a residential parking permit if they own an SUV, while Bristol could charge on-street, off-street and residential parking ‘based on ‘weight, emissions and size-based pricing’.

Already many London Boroughs, as well as cities like Bath, have emissions-based parking that means drivers of higher polluting cars (many of which are SUVs) have to pay more to park.

New SUVs buyers also face massive hikes in car taxation from next year.

Currently Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates are tiered based on emissions, with higher polluting petrol and diesel cars paying more, which typically results in far higher running costs for SUV models.

However, from 1 April, Labour will double VED showroom tax rates, which will see SUV buyers stung thousands of pounds in the first year of ownership.

The Land Rover Defender 90/110 V8 petrol, Land Rover Range Rover V8 petrol/RR Sport SV, Maserati Levante V6 petrol, Porsche Cayenne, Porsche Macan S/GTS, Ineos Grenadier, Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio are just some of the SUVs that will cost £5,490 to tax next year, This is Money recently revealed.

But environmental campaigners want to see road tax rules changed to target SUVs in particular.

Nick Molden, founder of environmental research company Emissions Analytics, has called on transport ministers to implement a taxation formula that multiplies the weight of the car by the distance it is driven.