New SUV registrations in Germany to exceed one million in one year

The boom of SUVs continues unabated in Germany, topping one million newly registered vehicles in a single year for the first time in 2019, Philipp Vetter writes for the Welt Online. The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) at the University of Duisburg-Essen estimates that 1.09 million new SUVs will have been registered in the country by the end of the year, meaning the usually heavy vehicle type that many scorn for its inefficiency and comparatively high carbon footprint will reach a share of about one third of all new cars registered in Germany. CAR head Ferdinand Dudenhöffer said the continuously high sales of SUVs mean that carmakers will have to find a way to keep the total CO2 output of their fleet in check. "There needs to be a balance between the additional (fuel) consumption of SUVs and CO2 emissions of new vehicles." According to the article, this will above all be achieved by bringing more electric and hybrid vehicles on the market. "It may sound odd, but SUVs represent an opportunity to achieve a quicker breakthrough of e-mobility in Germany," Dudenhöffer said.

Emissions in Germany's transport sector have remained practically unchanged since 1990, as efficiency gains in engine technology were largely offset by a trend towards heavier and more fuel-intensive cars. The German government plans to bring millions of electric cars on the road over the next decade in order to improve the sector's contribution to national climate targets and supports purchases of e-cars with a buyer's premium and a scheme to install one million public charging points across the country by 2030.