EVs will kill off SUVs, says Citroën CEO: Tell that to Jeep?

SUVs are displacing traditional sedans, hatchbacks and wagon sales, but Citroen bosses believe EVs could reverse the trend.

“The SUV world is over,” Citroen CEO Vincent Cobée said in a recent interview with Auto Express (via InsideEVs). This is a bold prediction, given that in the last few years SUVs have accounted for 50% of all new car registrations in Citroën’s home European market.

But the need to maximize range at a reasonable cost could lead to changes in automakers’ product planning habits, Coby argued, arguing that traditional SUV shapes weren’t optimal aerodynamically. pointing out that there is no

Any range loss due to increased aerodynamic drag may be offset by a larger battery pack. But that would add weight and cost, so it wouldn’t be a viable solution in the long run, Cove said, and public perception of the SUV as a waste could ultimately undermine its appeal. He added that there is

Jeep, Citroën’s cousin under the Stellantis family tree, seems to think otherwise as it plans to release the rugged Recon EV for the US while releasing the Avenger for Europe. In fact, all of Stellantis’ most profitable Jeep brands rely on Stellantis.

jeep avenger

And some markets, such as the United States, are building light trucks in large numbers as part of a strategy to “run faster than regulations,” as Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares recently told Green Car Reports. It may happen.

This raises the question of how the continued dominance of SUVs in the EV era will affect overall emissions reductions.

According to the 2021 report, the emissions benefits of moving to EVs have been negated by the market’s continued shift to SUVs. In the US, the Department of Energy has started using his SUV as a benchmark for vehicle comparisons, highlighting that smaller SUVs are better for the environment.