Australians are obsessed with SUVs and huge utes, but experts say they are making our roads deadlier
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About 60% of the 1.2m cars that drove out of the showroom last year were SUVs, but road fatalities reached a 12-year high too.

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George Upjohn vividly remembers his interaction with the driver of an SUV after a collision that happened while cycling in Sydney’s south.

“I had blood all over my shins and when I hobbled up and asked why she didn’t turn her head to check to her side before veering into my lane, she said she didn’t need to because the sensor in her car would have alerted her to me. She said I must have been at fault and rode into her,” the 32-year-old claims.

The former pilot turned rock-climbing coach has also had multiple near misses with SUVs while driving his small car and riding motorcycles. He says he has grown fearful of the larger vehicle’s bulkier bodies that block visibility, and height which makes their headlights “blinding” to those lower down.

Upjohn is dismayed at their ubiquity on the roads.

“They just don’t see me, they’re stupidly wide and tall and you know if they hit you  your body takes the whole impact.”



George Upjohn was hit and injured by an SUV while riding his bike in Sydney earlier this year. Photograph: Rémi Chauvin/The Guardian

But Upjohn finds himself on the wrong side of Australia’s latest car trend.

SUVs and huge utes have become the most popular vehicles in Australia, increasingly serving as the new family car. But experts are concerned their safety pitfalls could be making the nation’s roads deadlier.

In 2024, Australia’s enthusiasm for four-wheel drives and dual cab utes such as the Toyota RAV4 SUV and Ford Ranger over smaller cars such as the Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3 continued to flourish, with .

Of the 1,220,607 new vehicles sold in 2024, most were SUVs, with about 57% market share, an increase of 2.4% on the previous year. Light commercial vehicles – which includes utes – accounted for about 22% of sales.

Passenger cars – which covers sedans and hatchbacks – continued to slide in popularity, accounting for about 17% of purchases.

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