Crossover statistics sit at the intersection of vehicle classification, energy use, market adoption and crash outcomes. The measures below cover U.S. and global data from 1975 through 2025 forecasts, with explicit definitions for SUVs, electric vehicles, fuel economy and safety rates.
Key Crossover Statistics
The most useful headline figures span market change, engineering, electrification and safety:
- In the United States, 22,713 passenger-vehicle occupants died in 2024, 26% fewer than in 1975.
- In the United States, SUV occupants accounted for 6,648 deaths in 2024, about 29% of passenger-vehicle occupant deaths.
- In the United States, SUV occupant deaths were nearly 15 times the 1975 count in 2024, reflecting popularity and crash exposure rather than per-vehicle risk.
- The average new U.S. vehicle achieved 27.2 mpg in model year 2024, an EPA estimated real-world fleet average.
- U.S. average new-vehicle fuel economy was 41% higher in model year 2024 than in 2004.
- U.S. truck-SUV fuel economy reached 25.7 mpg in model year 2024, up 1.0 mpg.
- In model year 2024, 30% of U.S. car-SUV production was BEVs and another 3% was PHEVs.
- U.S. average new car-SUV real-world CO2 emissions fell 60 g/mi, or 24%, from 2022 to 2023.
- Average new U.S. vehicle weight reached about 4,371 lb in model year 2023, the highest in EPA’s record.
- Average new U.S. vehicle footprint increased from 48.9 to 51.8 square feet between 2008 and 2023.
- Average new U.S. vehicle horsepower reached 266 hp in model year 2023.
- Global electric-car sales exceeded 17 million in 2024, surpassing 20% of global car sales.
- The IEA expected global electric-car sales to exceed 20 million in 2025, more than one-quarter of worldwide car sales.
- Electric SUVs represented more than 75% of U.S. electric-car sales in 2024.
- The global sales-weighted average battery-electric-car range was about 340 km in 2024.
- Average battery-electric SUV range in Europe reached almost 400 km in 2024.
- Extended-range vehicles represented nearly 25% of electric SUV sales in China in 2024.
- The 2024 U.S. SUV driver-death rate for 1–3-year-old registered SUVs was 27 per million vehicles across all crashes.
- Rollover crashes accounted for 33% of U.S. SUV occupant deaths in 2024.
Contents
- The long-run shift in crossover and SUV production
- Crossover fuel economy and emissions trends
- Vehicle size, weight, power and footprint data
- Electric crossover adoption, range and powertrains
- Crossover and SUV safety outcomes
The Long-Run Shift in Crossover and SUV Production
EPA uses regulatory and body-style categories rather than one universal consumer definition of “crossover.” Its car-SUV category contains SUVs regulated as cars, while truck-SUV generally includes four-wheel-drive vehicles or vehicles above 6,000 pounds GVWR; remaining two-wheel-drive SUVs are generally car SUVs.
The long-run U.S. safety record shows how much the SUV population changed. IIHS reports passenger-vehicle occupant deaths, not ownership or exposure, so these totals should not be read as per-vehicle risk.
| U.S. passenger-vehicle group | 1975 | 2024 | Reported change or share |
|---|---|---|---|
| All passenger-vehicle occupants | 30,332 deaths | 22,713 deaths | 26% lower in 2024 |
| SUV occupants | 417 deaths, 1% | 6,648 deaths, about 29% | Nearly 15 times the 1975 count |
| Car occupants | — | — | Deaths declined 54% |
| Pickup occupants | — | — | Deaths increased 10% |
The source’s long-run comparison shows that SUV occupant deaths rose alongside SUV prevalence and exposure, while car occupant deaths declined. The relevant source is Fatality Facts 2024 Passenger vehicle occupants, which uses FARS-based fatality data and related vehicle information.
Crossover Fuel Economy and Emissions Trends
EPA estimated that the average new U.S. vehicle reached a record 27.2 mpg in model year 2024, up 0.1 mpg from 2023 and 41% above 2004. Fuel economy improved in 16 of the 20 model years preceding 2024, although the 2024 figures were preliminary.
The vehicle-type picture is especially relevant to crossovers and SUVs:
- Truck-SUV fuel economy rose 1.0 mpg to 25.7 mpg in model year 2024.
- Without BEVs and PHEVs, EPA estimated the model-year-2024 new-vehicle average would have been 1.7 mpg lower.
- In model year 2024, BEVs made up 30% of car-SUV production and PHEVs another 3%; the car-SUV powertrain mix raised fuel economy by 9.0 mpg.
- Average new car-SUV real-world CO2 emissions fell 60 g/mi, or 24%, from model year 2022 to 2023.
- Car SUVs increased fuel economy by 7.2 mpg from 2022 to 2023 and became the highest-fuel-economy EPA vehicle type in that comparison.
These are EPA estimated real-world and vehicle-type measures, not a universal crossover statistic. Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report provides the preliminary 2024 fleet and SUV figures, while the 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975 provides the longer trend and emissions context.
EPA also estimates that about 80% of total CO2 emissions from gasoline vehicles occur at the tailpipe and about 20% arise from upstream fuel production and distribution. This approximate life-cycle allocation is for U.S. gasoline vehicles generally, not crossovers specifically.
Vehicle Size, Weight, Power and Footprint Data
Average new-vehicle weight moved sharply over the period covered by EPA. It fell 21%, from 4,060 pounds in 1975 to about 3,200 pounds in 1981, then reached 4,111 pounds in 2004 and about 4,371 pounds in 2023—the highest in EPA’s record and about 6% above 2004.
| Measure | Earlier period and value | Later period and value |
|---|---|---|
| Average new-vehicle weight | 4,060 lb in 1975 | About 4,371 lb in 2023 |
| Average new-vehicle footprint | 48.9 sq. ft. in 2008 | 51.8 sq. ft. in 2023 |
| Average new-vehicle horsepower | 259 hp in 2022 | 266 hp in 2023 |
| Preliminary average horsepower | — | 267 hp in 2024 |
The weight gap between the heaviest and lightest EPA vehicle types widened to about 1,535 pounds in model year 2023, equal to about 35% of average new-vehicle weight. Footprint—the area enclosed by the four tires—increased 6% from 2008 to 2023.
SUV-specific footprint changes were smaller but still positive: average car-SUV footprint increased 4.5% and average truck-SUV footprint increased 3.7% between model years 2008 and 2023. EPA projected the overall average footprint to decline slightly to 51.6 square feet in model year 2024; that value was preliminary and partly based on prior-year and public vehicle data.
The 2024 report’s preliminary average new-vehicle horsepower was 267 hp, another record high. These size and power measures describe EPA categories and the U.S. new-vehicle market, not every crossover sold or owned.
Electric Crossover Adoption, Range and Powertrains
The global electric-car market exceeded 17 million sales in calendar year 2024, more than 20% of global car sales. The IEA forecast more than 20 million sales and a share above one-quarter of worldwide car sales in 2025; that is a forecast, not a 2024 observation.
SUVs were central to electric adoption in several regions:
| Region or market | 2024 electric-SUV or EV measure |
|---|---|
| United States | Electric SUVs exceeded 75% of electric-car sales |
| Europe | Electric SUVs were around 60% of electric-car sales |
| Global model market | Large cars, SUVs and pickups were 70% of available EV models, up from 65% in 2023 |
| China | EREVs were nearly 25% of electric SUV sales |
The IEA Global EV Outlook 2025 defines its electric-car category as BEVs and PHEVs where noted, and its SUV analysis follows its segment definitions across C–F segments.
The global sales-weighted average on-road range of battery-electric cars was about 340 km in 2024. Small battery-electric cars averaged just above 150 km, while medium and large battery-electric cars and SUVs each remained above 350 km; in Europe, the average battery-electric SUV range reached almost 400 km.
Powertrain choice also varied by region and vehicle size. China’s plug-in-hybrid electric range grew more than 20% from 2020 to 2024 to almost 100 km, while average PHEV electric range stalled at about 65 km in Europe and the United States in 2024.
In China, EREVs made up 60% of large electric SUV sales in 2024, with “large” defined as more than 4.8 metres long. More than 70% of the 40 EREV models in the IEA dataset were SUVs, although that model count is availability rather than sales and includes multipurpose vehicles and pickups.
Crossover and SUV Safety Outcomes
IIHS recorded 6,648 SUV occupant deaths in the United States in 2024: 73% were drivers and 26% passengers, with the percentages not summing exactly to 100% because of rounding and unknowns. By initial impact point, 4,014 deaths were frontal, 1,282 side, 382 rear and 970 other impacts, including mostly rollovers.
| 2024 U.S. SUV safety measure | Reported result |
|---|---|
| Single-vehicle crashes | 44% of SUV occupant deaths |
| Multiple-vehicle crashes | 56% of SUV occupant deaths |
| Rollover crashes | 33% of SUV occupant deaths |
| Driver deaths, 1–3-year-old registered SUVs, all crashes | 27 per million vehicles |
| Driver deaths, single-vehicle rollovers, 1–3-year-old SUVs | 4 per million vehicles |
For 1–3-year-old registered SUVs in 2024, the driver-death rate was 17 per million vehicles in multiple-vehicle crashes and 10 per million in single-vehicle crashes. These are descriptive rates reflecting vehicle design, use patterns and driver demographics, not causal estimates.
IIHS also reported different rates by drivetrain. In multiple-vehicle crashes, the driver-death rate was 26 per million for 2WD SUVs and 13 per million for 4WD SUVs; in single-vehicle crashes, it was 13 per million for 2WD SUVs and 9 per million for 4WD SUVs.
Rollover crashes accounted for 33% of SUV occupant deaths, compared with 20% for cars and 38% for pickups. That is a distribution of crash deaths, not the probability that an individual vehicle will roll over.
Among multiple-vehicle crashes involving 1–3-year-old registered SUVs, frontal impacts produced 10 driver deaths per million vehicles, side impacts 4 and rear impacts 2. The complete fatality methodology and tables are in Fatality Facts 2024 Passenger vehicle occupants, based on FARS and S&P Global Mobility data.