Over Half of All US EV Sales in 2023 Were SUVs — Make it 100% – CleanTechnica

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Vehicles Contribute 51% of a Household’s Carbon Footprint

In our car-centric society, many of us recognize the benefits of public transportation, bicycles, and walking. We need more and better options. Still, since we’re not there yet … we need other solutions.

I discover a new, high-quality electric SUV every day — compact, midsized, and full size. The styles keep arriving, but among those business folks and/or family consumers shopping for these larger vehicles, demand is already there for all of them, and more. If you’re not a fan of these electric SUVs because they are too large, consider how much gas-powered SUVs are contributing to Mother Earth’s insulted response of wailing winds and torrential rains, not to mention more and faster moving fire.

This measure shows a vehicle’s impact on climate change in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide (CO2), it emits. Your choice of vehicle has the biggest impact on your overall contribution to climate change. Source: FuelEconomy.gov

Many have decided that electric SUVs or trucks are the ideal choice to offset that load of CO2 environmentally. This is especially true for people who are hauling goods, planning occasions such as weddings, coordinating design, and gathering children for school or family trips. When considering one’s carbon footprint and climate change, or just the financial aspect, electric vehicles (EVs) are a superior option. Not to mention handling the aftermath of climate-related catastrophes.

VW bidirectional charging at home. Image courtesy of VW

“In 2023, SUVs accounted for more than half of all BEV and PHEV sales,” the US Department of Energy writes.

Source: Argonne National Laboratory, Light Duty Electric Drive Vehicles Monthly Sales Update. Note: Size class definitions are found here.

“Manufacturers now provide EVs in a variety of vehicle categories. The compact SUV category saw the most sales, but when coupled with the regular SUV category, SUVs accounted for 53% of BEV sales and 83% of all PHEV sales. Cars (indicated by the blue colors in the chart) accounted for less than 10% of total PHEV sales but 43.4% of BEV sales.”

Plugin electric car share of car sales versus plugin electric “light truck” share of light truck sales versus plugin electric vehicle light-duty vehicle share of light-duty vehicle share. Graph courtesy of Argonne.
Plugin vehicle and hybrid vehicle sales compared to gasoline price. Graph courtesy of Argonne.

Many of us wish more small electric cars were produced and sold. However, this trend is not just a matter of supply or company efforts. If you look at Tesla, which is happy to sell you a Model 3 sedan or a Model Y crossover, you can see that Model Y sales have grown to a much, much larger level than Model 3 sales.

We need to sell more electric SUVs, because people are going to buy SUVs either way. We can at least cut a lot of emissions by making sure they are electric SUVs.


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