Americans want bigger, faster and more luxurious sport utility vehicles — and automakers are more than happy to fulfill the booming demand.New SUVs dominated media previews on Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show, the latest sign that the shift away from traditional cars is more than a short-term trend.
And the new vehicles are all about muscle. Ford Motor released a more powerful version of its extra-large Lincoln Navigator. There were high-octane offerings in the Jeep and Mercedes-Benz lines. And General Motors moved to cement its leadership in the category with a midsize model capable of towing a 20-foot speedboat.
In short, with oil prices half what they were three years ago, and President Trump vowing to cut back on fuel-economy regulations, automakers are raising the stakes in the SUV segment.
“We don’t think that the rate of growth of SUVs will necessarily continue, but we do believe the shift to them is permanent,” said Mike Manley, head of Fiat Chrysler’s Jeep division.
Pickup trucks and SUVs have accounted for about 62 per cent of all new vehicles sold in the United States so far this year, compared with 57 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, according to the research firm Autodata.
That extends a trend line that has inched upward since gasoline dropped below $3 a gallon in 2014.
The big American auto companies have been the greatest beneficiaries of the public’s appetite for high-riding, spacious SUVs, which generally earn bigger profits for manufacturers than mainstream cars.
In March, more than 70 per cent of the vehicles sold in the United States by General Motors and Ford Motor were trucks and SUVs. The proportion was even higher, about 85 per cent, for Fiat Chrysler.
All three Detroit automakers and their foreign rivals are working overtime to add new or updated sport utility vehicles to their lineups.
The trend worries environmentalists because SUVs generally burn more gas than smaller cars, generating more of the harmful emissions believed to cause global warming.
Some automakers are also adding electric cars to their portfolios, but not in volumes equal to the proliferation of SUVs.
But Trump’s move to cut back regulations — starting with his announcement last month that his administration would revisit the Obama administration’s fuel-economy standards — has given the industry less motivation to devote resources to electrified models or smaller, high-mileage passenger cars.
And while companies are committed to electric-car programmes, their earnings are heavily dependent on feeding consumers’ appetite for new and improved SUVs.
“The fact is these larger vehicles have been extraordinary profit centres, especially for the domestic manufacturers,” said Jack Gillis, public affairs director for the Consumer Federation of America, a non-profit group that supports stringent fuel-economy rules.
As long as gas prices remain low, he said, the SUV boom is likely to continue. But once prices begin to rise, consumers may become less enamoured with the larger models.
Economic conditions are going to drive improvements in fuel efficiency more than environmental considerations,” Gillis said. “Consumers will rethink their decision to buy a larger vehicle when it starts costing more to fill their gas tanks.”
For now, the market for SUVs is seemingly growing by the day.
Some brands have been completely revitalised by the proliferation of SUVs, which now come in sizes ranging from compact to extra-large.
The Buick division of General Motors, for example, is introducing a new version of its midsize Enclave SUV at the New York show.
That follows the addition of two smaller sport utility models to the brand’s lineup. And where Buick was once synonymous with cushy sedans, it is now tilted heavily toward SUVs.
“Up to three-quarters of our sales now are SUVs,” said Duncan Aldred, head of the Buick division. “That’s how much Buick is on the track with the market.”
And though it is considered a midsize SUV, the Enclave is large enough to accommodate three rows of seats.
Aldred said the typical customers drawn to Buick SUVs included families with young children who required considerable space and older drivers who appreciated the rugged capability and utility of a high-riding model.
He said that fuel economy was rarely a major consideration for consumers shopping for an SUV.
The existing Enclave model gets about 17 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, but the new version shown in New York is expected to improve upon that performance, once it is certified by federal regulators.
New technology, for example, allows for the engine to shut down and restart when the vehicle is idling, saving fuel.
©2017 The New York Times New Service