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Campaigners against climate change are calling for a ban on
sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to help reduce emissions, reports
Reuters. A consortium including Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe
called 'Exit' made the call for automakers to end the development
of large and heavy cars powered by ICEs at a press conference on
the eve of the Frankfurt Motor Show (Germany). Exit said, "As long
as SUVs rather than small electric vehicles dominate automotive
transport, cars will remain the problem child for us climate
activists." However, in a debate with the leader of a coalition of
climate activists known as the 'Sand in the Gearbox', Volkswagen
(VW) Group CEO Herbert Diess said that the automaker was in the
business of providing individual mobility and highlighted that some
of its earlier efforts to provide small zero-emission cars had been
unsuccessful. He added that it is ultimately the customer that
makes the market and that "SUVs are what the customer wants". The
senior executive said that regulators have it in their power to
incentivise consumer buying behaviour, but he rejected a call for
an outright ban on cars or certain types of vehicle. He also noted
that switching to renewable forms of energy and cutting dependence
on coal-fired power stations was another way of meeting climate
goals.
Significance: As highlighted by Diess, there is
no clear answer to the calls made by these activists. Up until
around a decade and half ago, the SUV category in Europe was a
relatively niche category until consumer interest shifted in that
direction. Ironically, during this time, emissions seen by such
vehicles have fallen significantly due to many now being based on
the same architectures as conventional passenger-car types. Many
automakers are also hoping that the crossover and SUV trend will
help to widen the interest in their electrified vehicles,
particularly given that higher roofs of such vehicles help to make
battery packaging much easier. It is likely that until in some way
it is made too onerous to own such vehicles, customers who have the
means will continue to buy these and other similar vehicles.
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