Will Drivers Switch From SUVs to CUVs?

In response to sky-high fuel prices, US consumers are switching their SUVs for CUVs or crossover utility vehicles. Sema’s Research and Information Center has published figures which suggest that although American vehicle owners are becoming more efficiency conscious, there are no signs that they will abandon SUVs altogether. 56 per cent of those surveyed indicated that they do not plan to downsize their vehicles at all.

A total of 1,666,100 new crossovers were sold during the first nine months of 2005 versus 1,889,307 new SUVs. But the CUV market continues to grow while the SUV segment is slowly losing market share of total new-vehicle sales in the United States. Crossover vehicles hold 12.7 per cent of 2005 market share, jumping from 11.5 per cent in 2004 and 5.9 per cent in 2001. On the other hand, SUV market share has slipped from 16.5 per cent in 2004 to 14.4 per cent during the first nine months of 2005. According to Planning Edge, an automotive research firm, CUV sales are projected to hit 3 million units by 2009, whereas SUV sales will reach 2.7 million units.