The average weight of passenger cars has not increased in Europe since 2011
- The average weight of passenger cars produced in Europe has not changed since 2011, when it had increased significantly between 1990 and 2010, from 1,020 kg to 1,380 kg. Inovev wondered why this average weight of vehicles produced in Europe had not changed since 2011 and had suddenly stabilized since that date. Indeed, with the arrival of SUVs in the 2000s which now represent 30% of European production, we could have expected an increase in the average weight of vehicles, knowing that SUVs are heavier than sedans of the same segment.
- In fact, several factors played at the same time and contributed to the stabilization of the average weight.
1. Sales of sedans and minivans have fallen sharply over the past thirty years, representing only 48% of European production in 2019 and the average weight of a sedan is today 1,256 kilos against 1,296 kilos in 2011 .
2. SUV sales have grown significantly over the past twenty years, representing 30% of European production in 2019. But the average weight of an SUV is today 1,545 kilos compared to 1,685 kilos in 2011, thanks to the arrival of B-segment SUVs.
3. But the most decisive factor is the shift from buyers of higher-segment sedans to lower-segment SUVs. For example from D-segment sedans to C-segment SUVs, which stabilized the average weight at the demand level. This seems logical since the price of a C-segment SUV is in the same range of the price of a D-segment sedan.
4. Finally and at a second level, sales of electric cars have increased over the past five years, but their production volume, which remains low (267,000 units in 2019 out of nearly 20 million vehicles, all engines combined) has no impact. The average weight of a BEV today is 1,557 kilograms, whereas there were no electric cars in 2011.
- For more information, Inovev has conducted a complete study of the evolution of vehicles mass in the European production. Please contact us for more information.
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