The common weight of latest automobiles has elevated by nearly 400 kg over the previous seven years, in line with Autocar.
This was noticed from the British journal’s personal knowledge from car highway exams, and figures from between 2016 and 2023, or roughly one mannequin cycle, confirmed that the imply common kerb weight of latest automobiles elevated from 1,553 kg to 1,947 kg.
The will increase in weight have been attributed, partly, to the rising recognition of SUVs, a lot of that are heavier than their sedan or hatchback equivalents. Of the autos examined by the publication in 2016, 16 fashions have been SUVs or crossovers, which had a imply common kerb weight of 1,722 kg, which was 169 kg greater than the determine for all fashions examined that 12 months.
Examples cited embody the Skoda Kodiaq which was recorded by the publication to weigh 1,751 kg, or 246 kg greater than the Skoda Very good from the earlier mannequin 12 months. Testing of one other marque, Jaguar, yielded comparable outcomes, with the F-Tempo weighing 180 kg greater than the XF with the identical 2.0 litre turbodiesel engine, it wrote.
Coming ahead to 2023, the journal examined 24 crossovers, SUVs and pick-up vans in complete that 12 months, with a imply common weight of 1,985 kg. This was solely a 38 kg distinction in comparison with the general common weight for that 12 months, or considerably lower than the 169 kg distinction recorded in 2016, it famous.
Autocar noticed that whereas SUVs and crossovers averaged 1,906 kg, which was beneath the imply common for all fashions it examined final 12 months, this recommended that whereas the elevated proportion of SUVs in the marketplace is partly chargeable for the general weight acquire, it isn’t the only real trigger, a discovering which it says is backed up by the typical SUV in 2023 being 183 kg heavier than it was in 2016.
Electrification additionally performed a job within the upwards weight creep of latest automobiles, as battery-electric autos (BEVs) examined by Autocar noticed a median weight of 1,991 kg, in comparison with inside combustion-engined automobiles which averaged nearly 100 kg much less at 1,897 kg. If hybrids and PHEVs are excluded, the ICE common drops to 1,841 kg, or 150 kg lower than the BEV common.
The journal says that the distinction is mirrored within the broader development for automobiles it has examined since 2000, which reached the 1,700 kg common mark in 2018. This dipped to 1,675 kg in 2019 however has continued to extend since, reaching 1,879 kg in 2022 and 1,947 kg final 12 months. The development seems to solely proceed upwards, it says, as the typical weight of automobiles examined in Q1 2024 was 2,087 kg, the heaviest car being a Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV at 2,899 kg.
General weight acquire amongst autos isn’t simply to be blamed on SUVs and electrification, Autocar notes, because the shrinking of the small-car phase has additionally pushed common weights upwards with fewer fashions beneath 1,000 kg coming to market to offset the heavier fashions on sale.
Automobiles that tipped the weighing scale at lower than 1,000 kg, as examined by the journal, have been six in complete in 2003, wit one other six weighing between 1,000 kg and 1,100 kg, it mentioned. In 2023, only one automobile was examined to weigh beneath the tonne, a Citroën Ami, which is definitely categorized as a quadricycle. The lightest automobile examined in 2023 by the publication was the Alpine A110 R at 1,065 kg, adopted by the petrol-powered Hyundai Kona at 1,532 kg.
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