The massive and still growing popularity of the SUV body type is a common trend in most major automotive markets around the world. Automakers rushed in, offering potential customers SUVs of every shape, size, price, and performance. But the arrival of EVs, or the EV age, may finally be putting the brakes on.
One of the biggest design highlights of EVs is their aerodynamic body contours, which help them cut through the air to provide greater range. Frankly, SUVs don’t have this attribute on their resume. Citroen Chief Executive Vincent Cobee believes this is a major factor hitting SUVs hard. “The SUV world is over,” he told AutoExpress recently, while acknowledging that current sales figures may not yet show he’s right. But he thinks aerodynamics will be an important factor in the era to come. “In a battery EV, if you get the aerodynamics wrong, the loss in terms of range is huge. You can lose 50 kilometers between good and bad aerodynamics, and between an SUV and a sedan You can easily talk about 60/70/80 kilometers in between.”
SUVs are also generally always heavier than other body types such as sedans and hatchbacks. A bigger battery would add further weight, which would have an even bigger detrimental effect.
No wonder Citroen is relying on smaller body types to advance its electric ambitions. In India, the company is preparing to launch the Citroen e-C3 EV, which is essentially an electric version of the C3 compact car. Some of the best EVs – in terms of range – are also luxury sedan models, such as the Mercedes EQS, BMW i4 and Audi e-tron GT. The world’s best-selling electric car is the Tesla Model 3, which, while more affordable than its siblings, is also a sedan.
First published date: Jan 16, 2023 at 11:55am CST
https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/electric-vehicles/evs-may-eventually-kill-growing-demand-for-suvs-here-s-why-41673849737836.html