The SUV will soon be dead, claims Citroën boss
The days of hefty Sports Utility Vehicles are numbered, according to the CEO of Citroën Vincent Cobée. The French car boss believes that demands of electrification and a shift in public opinion will lead to the demise of the large crossovers which currently dominate the car market.
In an interview with the U.K.’s Auto Express Cobée claimed, succinctly, “The world of SUVs is done.”
While admitting that sales figures right now show the exact opposite, Cobée said that in the quest for ever-more efficient EVs the basic design design principles of tall, heavy crossovers are simply incompatible. Citing aerodynamics as being of huge significance he said, “On a battery EV, if your aerodynamics are wrong, the penalty in terms of range is massive. You can lose 50km (31 miles) between good and bad aero, and between an SUV and a sedan you’re talking 60/70/80 km very easily.”
Another key factor will be weight, he added. Heavy cars don’t just require more energy to move, they’re likely to incur cost penalties. In Citroën’s home country of France vehicles are already taxed according to weight, so adding more and more batteries to compensate for a bigger vehicle’s needs won’t be the answer. Cobée bemoaned the massive increase in mass that’s come with bigger cars and electrification. “In the 1970s, a car was weighing 700kg (1543 lbs) . Today an average car is weighing 1300kg (2866 lbs). Tomorrow an average car will weigh two tonnes (4409 lbs). So we’re using three times more resources to deliver the same service, just to be ‘green’.”
Citroën’s plan to is pursue a lightweight approach, as demonstrated by the Oli concept car, which uses innovative materials including cardboard to keep its mass to a minimum, allowing it to carry a relatively small 40kWh battery, yet still achieve a driving range of almost 250 miles.
Finally, Cobée believes that the public will actually turn against SUVS. “People will start limiting weight and battery sizes, either through tax, through incentives, through regulation, through naming and shaming. If you live in a big city, five years ago if you drop off your kids with a big SUV you’re a man. Now, if you do this, you’re a ‘terrorist’…”
Do you think he’s correct and will you miss the SUV when it’s gone? Let us know in the comments.
The Constitution doesn’t guarantee one such a right to pursue happiness, though.
I had a pickup truck and a car. I sold them both and got a SUV. It simplified my life by eliminating the insurance, registration, cost of maintenance, and the space that two vehicles took up. The SUV is comfortable, quiet, can tow my car trailer, and still gets 20MPG. I like my GLE 350. It is a good compromise.
It all comes down to what you need (moreso than what you want). If you need to haul bulk, the vehicle must have the cubic capacity. We have a summer cottage, and we “had” to trade in our Kia Sorento on a Chrysler Pacifica because the Sorento wasn’t big enough to get the stuff back-and-forth to/from either refrigerator or things that probably shouldn’t freeze, like power washers or latex paints, as well as other accoutrements, both needed (and wanted). So that was that. Our Ford Escape AWD is needed to get in-and-out of our long hilly lane after ice storms—and three old English roadsters are useful (wanted? needed?) on warm dry days to save odometer scrolling on the minivan and the SUV. So most of the time all five just sit around, we being non-commuters. And not visibly deteriorating or runnng up costs, or otherwise begging for money.
Those big, blunt empty-except-driver SUVs trying to drive around daily or usually just idling in traffic aren’t matched to their possible useage, and are the wrong choice for muliple deliterious reasons. They do not, however, deserve blanket criticism for what they can do, but for how they are commonly misused. Taking a drive with all the people and stuff you think you need and that can nicely fill your capacity to be deposited at your destination, might be favorably compared with the Citroen option: A convoy of enough slippery little French cars made out of pieces of cardboard, required to carry the same people and stuff as your single SUV.
If you get the Citroens with the towing option you can chain 4 of them together like golf carts…..but you’ll need a Suburban to tow them……..
Oh I believe him. But that’s the big hefty SUvs, not more economical small and mid-size SUVs. Just like the Ford Excursion that didn’t sell well and was gone after a few years.
This is a ridiculous argument. ICE SUVs have the exact same problems. Yet they are more popular than ever.
The only way the SUV loses popularity is to the return of the big full-sized sedan & station wagon.
The cost savings of switching from ICE SUVs to EV SUVs will mean boom times for giant automobiles. What’s the point in an economy car when the average EV
Suburban gets twice the mileage of a ICE Corolla?
As the owner of everything from a ’57 Beetle to a ’12 Jeep Grand Cherokee HEMI, different vehicles serve different purposes. As much as I love our old VW’s and my Wife’s 325ci, 8 years ago we were hit at a standstill from behind by a sedan going 40MPH. The car folded almost into a A-Shape. Our SUV. had undercarriage damage, but stayed fairly intact. I do agree many business and growing families need some type of SUV or crossover depending on their lifestyle. As mentioned in another comment, people are blind to what is in front of them and follow more closely. Also many people let their vehicles idle when running into a 7-11 for example and are heavy on the throttle on many highways. If we would cut the idling, and drop our speeds, this might help our environment a bit. Some of the highways here in Ontario are quite dangerous. It would be great to see EV’s come into their own. But it’s still at too early of a stage, mileage and cost are not where people need them to be. More environmentally ways need to be found to develop the batteries. Also, the load that will be put on a lot of outdated power grids, will have to updated at a lot of taxpayers expense.
My take is that he is talking of the fashion for large vehicles, not the need that most readers are replying with. Very few if any Euro cities are big enough to take the ever increase width as well as size. Given that he is from Citroen most of the argument is directed at the 740 million people in Europe who are likely to face changes. Some demanded by governments, some by consumers. I could not envisage that Citroen haven’t had many focus groups discussing the current and future trends. Given the long lead times to design vehicles he is probably giving us the heads up on the european carpark in 2030
As with many families, we are a two car outfit. We have a Yukon Denali, which is often filled with a variety of things, and a Subaru Outback. The pairing serves all our needs quite effectively. Also, as with AJ Powers comment above, I was hit by a 4 door sedan doing with a very intoxicated driver doing about 50 while in my Yukon. I stepped out of the truck and asked how the other driver was. He was not afforded the same luxury.