Compact SUV statistics are usually reported through broader car-SUV, truck-SUV and small-SUV categories rather than one universal compact-SUV series. The figures below therefore identify the population, geography, period and measurement method for each observation, with U.S. EPA production and efficiency data paired with IIHS safety evidence.
Key Compact SUV Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- In U.S. model year 2024, car SUVs represented 10.6% of new-vehicle production.
- In U.S. model year 2024, truck SUVs represented 49.6% of new-vehicle production.
- In U.S. model year 2024, the truck regulatory class accounted for 66% of new-vehicle production.
- In U.S. model year 1975, car SUVs represented 0.1% of U.S. new-vehicle production.
- In U.S. model year 1975, truck SUVs represented 1.7% of U.S. new-vehicle production.
- In U.S. model year 2024, the average new vehicle achieved an estimated real-world 27.2 mpg.
- In U.S. model year 2024, the average new vehicle weighed 4,354 pounds.
- In U.S. model year 2024, the average new vehicle produced 258 horsepower.
- Between U.S. model years 2008 and 2024, average new-vehicle footprint increased 5.4%, from 48.9 to 51.5 square feet.
- In U.S. model year 2024, battery-electric vehicles made up 30% of car-SUV production.
- In U.S. model year 2024, car SUVs averaged an estimated real-world 39.2 mpg.
- From U.S. model year 2022 to 2023, average car-SUV real-world CO2 emissions fell by 60 grams per mile, or 24%.
- In U.S. model year 2024, small SUVs had 34 driver deaths per million registered 1–3-year-old vehicles across all crashes.
- In U.S. model year 2024, small SUVs had 3 driver deaths per million registered 1–3-year-old vehicles in single-vehicle rollover crashes.
- During 2021–2024 in the United States, the IIHS small-SUV group recorded 38 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years.
- During 2021–2024 in the United States, the IIHS small-SUV group recorded 46 deaths per million registered vehicle years among drivers in other vehicles.
- In the 2023-model/equivalent IIHS analysis, 18 of the 20 models with the lowest driver death rates were SUVs.
Contents
- Key Compact SUV Statistics
- How Compact SUVs Are Counted in U.S. Market Statistics
- Compact SUV Market Trends and Fuel Economy
- New-Vehicle Size, Weight, Power and Footprint Data
- Electrification, Emissions and SUV Efficiency Trends
- Compact SUV Safety Outcomes in U.S. Crash Data
- Small-SUV Crash Tests and Real-World Risk
How Compact SUVs Are Counted in U.S. Market Statistics
The EPA does not publish a compact-SUV-only long-run vehicle-type series. Its car-SUV and truck-SUV categories are broader than compact SUVs, so they are useful market context rather than a direct count of compact models.
| EPA category | 1975 | 2000 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car SUVs, U.S. production | 0.1% | 3.7% | 12.5% | 10.6% |
| Truck SUVs, U.S. production | 1.7% | 15.2% | 45.4% | 49.6% |
Source: 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975. The EPA categories are broader than compact SUVs.
The wider regulatory picture also changed substantially. Sedan and wagon models exceeded 80% of U.S. new-vehicle production in 1975, while the truck regulatory class accounted for 66% in 2024; that class includes truck SUVs, pickups and minivans.
Compact SUV Market Trends and Fuel Economy
The production series shows a long shift toward SUV categories, but the available observations do not isolate compact SUVs from larger SUVs. The related pickup and van figures help describe the changing mix without being treated as compact-SUV measurements.
- Pickups reached a 19% share of U.S. new-vehicle production in model year 1994, according to the 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report.
- Minivans and vans reached an 11% production share in model year 1995, according to the 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report.
- Pickups represented 10% of U.S. new-vehicle production in model year 2012, according to the 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report.
- Minivans and vans accounted for less than 3% of U.S. vehicle production in model year 2023; the EPA describes this as a rounded threshold in the 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report.
The average model-year 2024 U.S. new vehicle reached an estimated real-world fuel economy of 27.2 mpg, an improvement of 0.1 mpg from 2023. This is an all-new-vehicle measure, not a compact-SUV estimate.
New-Vehicle Size, Weight, Power and Footprint Data
U.S. model-year 2024 benchmarks provide a useful scale reference for readers comparing compact SUVs with the broader new-vehicle market. The EPA’s calculated acceleration measure is an estimate, while the footprint definition is wheelbase multiplied by average track width.
| Model-year 2024 U.S. new-vehicle benchmark | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Estimated real-world fuel economy | 27.2 mpg |
| Average weight | 4,354 pounds |
| Average power | 258 horsepower |
| Calculated 0-to-60 time | 7.5 seconds |
| Average footprint | 51.5 square feet |
Source: 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975. The 0-to-60 figure is a calculated EPA metric, and footprint is wheelbase times average track width.
The same EPA comparison reports that average new-vehicle footprint increased 5.4%, from 48.9 to 51.5 square feet, between model years 2008 and 2024. Under NHTSA regulatory definitions, cars represented 34% and trucks 66% of U.S. new-vehicle production in model year 2024.
Electrification, Emissions and SUV Efficiency Trends
Electrification figures vary sharply by SUV category. In model year 2024, battery-electric vehicles made up 30% of car-SUV production, while plug-in hybrids made up 3%; for truck-SUV production, the corresponding shares were 4% and 4%.
| 2024 SUV category | Battery-electric | Plug-in hybrid | Estimated real-world fuel economy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car SUVs | 30% of production | 3% of production | 39.2 mpg |
| Truck SUVs | 4% of production | 4% of production | 25.7 mpg |
Source: 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975. These are broader EPA categories, not compact SUVs only, and fuel economy is estimated.
Car SUVs averaged an estimated 40.5 mpg in model year 2023 and 39.2 mpg in 2024. From model year 2022 to 2023, average car-SUV real-world CO2 emissions fell by 60 grams per mile, or 24%; the EPA identifies this as a category-wide comparison.
The EPA also reports that battery-electric and plug-in-hybrid vehicles together increased car-SUV fuel economy by 9.0 mpg in model year 2024. Across all U.S. light-duty production, the combined battery-electric, plug-in-hybrid and fuel-cell category rose from 6.7% in 2022 to 11.5% in 2023, and the EPA projected 14.8% for model year 2024; that last figure is a forecast rather than a final observation.
Sources: 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975 and EPA Report Shows US Fuel Economy Hits Record High and CO2 Emissions Reach a Record Low.
Compact SUV Safety Outcomes in U.S. Crash Data
IIHS fatality statistics provide the closest published size-class evidence for small SUVs, but the category is broader than any one compact model. The rates below are deaths per million registered 1–3-year-old vehicles in the United States during the stated period.
| Small-SUV outcome, 2024 | Deaths per million registered vehicles |
|---|---|
| All crashes, drivers | 34 |
| Multiple-vehicle crashes, drivers | 23 |
| Single-vehicle crashes, drivers | 11 |
| Single-vehicle rollover crashes, drivers | 3 |
Source: Passenger vehicle occupants. The IIHS small-SUV size class is broader than one compact model.
Across the broader SUV category, SUV drivers had 268 deaths per million registered 1–3-year-old passenger vehicles in 1978 and 27 in 2024. All SUV occupants had 431 deaths per million in 1978 and 41 in 2024.
In 2024, SUVs had 39 all-crash driver deaths per million registered 1–3-year-old 2WD vehicles versus 22 for 4WD vehicles. The source labels this comparison as non-causal, so it should not be read as an estimate of drivetrain effect.
Small-SUV Crash Tests and Real-World Risk
The IIHS small-SUV group recorded 38 driver deaths per million registered vehicle years during 2021–2024, alongside 46 deaths per million registered vehicle years among drivers in other vehicles. Eligibility and age/gender adjustments apply to these rates.
The small-luxury-SUV group recorded 28 driver deaths and 33 other-driver deaths per million registered vehicle years during 2021–2024. This is a separate group and does not represent all compact SUVs.
Source: Driver death rates remain high for small cars, models with powerful engines.
The same IIHS analysis found that 18 of the 20 models with the lowest driver death rates were SUVs in its 2023-model/equivalent analysis. That is a selected list, not a fleet average or a compact-SUV-only estimate.
A single controlled crash test illustrates why model-level evidence matters. In the IIHS driver-side small-overlap test of a 2022 Jeep Compass, the maximum lower-hinge-pillar intrusion was 6 centimeters, the driver HIC-15 head-injury measure was 137, and maximum driver-dummy chest compression was 20 millimeters.
Source: 2023 Jeep Compass. These are measurements from one test vehicle and one controlled dummy trial, not a population-wide risk estimate.