Vehicle valuation company Cap HPI has found that the SUV sector makes up almost a third of the vehicles sold in Britain.
With SUV models making up 30.5 per cent of the British car market in 2017, the market share of the sector has increased by 19 per cent since 2008 – which equates to roughly 650,000 more unit sales.
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Mark Bulmer, consumer specialist and SUV analyst at Cap HPI, said: “In 2008 SUV barely existed as a sector and annual sales volumes were around 161,000 vehicles within an industry totalling 2.1 million, the SUV sector achieved 11.6% of the market share.
“Fast forward to 2017 and the SUV sector achieved sales of over 817,000 vehicles from a total car market of 2.5 million achieving a massive 30.5% of the total market share.
“The growth of SUV sales in just 10 years is nothing short of staggering and it shows no signs of applying the brakes. 114 completely new models have been launched since 2015 with at least a further 20 expected within the next 12 months.”
With customers finding more use in SUV models with their increased practicality and functionality, brands are investing more than ever in built-up vehicles as people continue to flock to them.
Bulmer added: “The SUV market has continued to boom and sector growth has been boosted by a strong consumer appetite. The huge choice of available models and all year-round lifestyle appeal all serves to make the sector appealing to motorists and ensure the manufacturers are innovating to fuel demand. SUVs have become the vehicle of choice for families, easily meeting the demands of everyday family life.
“The SUV sector remains one of the most exciting vehicle sectors and manufacturers are putting a great deal of emphasis on design, styling and performance to capitalise on this continuous growth and it hasn’t finished growing yet. We can expect to see plenty of new SUV models this year covering all sector sizes and electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel vehicles are needed to meet the requirements of a rapidly changing market.”
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