Oz Buyers Turning Toward SUVs in Bigger Numbers

The rise of the SUV shows no sign of slowing in Australia, with a new survey finding the proportion of new-car intenders considering or planning to purchase an SUV for their next vehicle has grown more than 40% since 2011.

Roy Morgan Research finds small SUVs have experienced an especially dizzying surge in popularity, with 180,000 potential car buyers now having one on their shopping list – up from 71,000 in 2011.

Roy Morgan Research Automotive Industry Director Jordan Pakes says 25.8% of these people potentially will be stepping out of a small car, an increase of about 33,000 since 2011.

“Over the last few years, the small-SUV segment has been the fastest-growing segment in terms of new-vehicle sales, and with purchase consideration continuing to improve, this trend looks likely to continue,” Pakes says in a statement.

“With a number of small SUVs on the market sharing platforms with their small/light car siblings, it appears the allure of these generally ‘newer,’ high-riding vehicles could be swaying some traditional small/city-car buyers to consider an SUV instead.”

Pakes says among the models preferred by potential small-SUV buyers are the Hyundai ix35, Nissan Dualis (renamed the Qashqai in July) and Volkswagen Tiguan – with the Hyundai the big mover since 2011.

“With a number of new small SUVs set to launch in early 2015, including the highly anticipated Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V, it looks likely that the popularity of this category will continue to rise over the next few years,” he says.