SUVs reached a record 48% of global car sales in 2023, while more than 360 million were already in use worldwide. The figures below distinguish sales, production, registrations, fleet stocks, model availability and modeled outcomes across the periods and geographies reported by the original sources.
Key SUV Sales Statistics
The most broadly useful SUV sales statistics include:
- In 2023, SUVs accounted for 48% of global car sales worldwide.
- In 2023, SUV sales in advanced economies reached around 20 million vehicles.
- In 2023, SUVs surpassed 50% of car sales in advanced economies for the first time.
- In 2023, more than one in four cars on roads worldwide were SUVs.
- In 2023, more than 55% of new electric-car registrations worldwide were SUVs.
- In 2023, only 5% of SUVs on roads worldwide were electric.
- In 2023, 500 electric-car models were available worldwide.
- In 2023, SUVs represented 60% of available electric-car models worldwide.
- In 2023, more than 360 million SUVs were in use worldwide.
- In 2023, SUVs produced about 1 billion tonnes of combustion-related CO2 worldwide.
- In 2023, about 30 million internal-combustion SUVs were added to the global fleet.
- In 2022, around 16% of SUVs sold worldwide were electric.
- In 2022, electric SUVs displaced more than 150,000 barrels of oil per day worldwide.
- In fiscal 2024, Toyota sold 1.003 million RAV4 vehicles globally.
- In fiscal 2024, Toyota sold 391,000 Highlander vehicles globally.
- In calendar 2024, Ford reported 771,042 U.S. SUV sales.
- In calendar 2024, Ford Explorer sales totaled 194,094 U.S. vehicles.
Contents
- Global SUV sales and market share
- Regional SUV adoption and production data
- Electric SUV sales and model availability
- SUV fleet size, emissions and oil outcomes
- Toyota SUV sales by model and region
- Ford SUV sales in the United States
Global SUV Sales Statistics and Market Share
The IEA measures the global market in several ways, so annual sales shares should not be confused with the share of vehicles already on the road. Its classification follows the underlying market datasets and combines registrations and sales analysis where stated.
- SUVs accounted for 48% of global car sales in 2023, a record share. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year – and so are their emissions”
- Global SUV sales reached about 45% of total car sales in 2022. IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023: Trends in electric light-duty vehicles”
- From 2021 to 2022, SUV sales increased 3%, while total car sales decreased 0.5% worldwide. These are measures from the same IEA analysis, but not a unit-for-unit SUV count. IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
- More than one in four cars in the global on-road fleet were SUVs in 2023. This is a fleet estimate rather than an annual sales share. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year”
The contrast between 2022 and 2023 shows why the measurement period matters: one statistic describes annual purchases, while the other describes the accumulated vehicle stock.
Regional SUV Sales Statistics and U.S. Production Data
Advanced-market adoption was especially high in 2023, but regional comparisons sometimes use a combined category that includes SUVs, pickups and large cars. EPA production statistics use regulatory classes and therefore are not retail registrations.
| Geography or measure | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced economies, SUV sales | 2023 | Around 20 million vehicles |
| Advanced economies, SUV market share | 2023 | More than 50% of car sales |
| United States, SUVs/pickups/large cars among ICE sales | 2023 | More than 80% |
| China, SUVs/pickups/large cars among ICE sales | 2023 | 60% |
| Europe, SUVs/pickups/large cars among ICE sales | 2023 | 50% |
The advanced-economy figures come from the IEA, which reported that SUVs passed a 50% share of car sales for the first time in 2023. The United States, China and Europe comparisons are combined large-vehicle categories rather than SUV-only shares. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year” IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
EPA production data provide a separate view of the U.S. market:
- Truck SUVs accounted for 50% of new U.S. vehicle production in model year 2024.
- Truck SUVs represented 45% of U.S. production in model year 2023, while car SUVs represented 12%.
- Sedan and wagon production fell to 25% of the U.S. market in model year 2023.
- In model year 2024, trucks represented 66% and cars 34% of new U.S. vehicle production under NHTSA classifications.
The truck category includes pickups, truck SUVs and vans, while EPA generally distinguishes four-wheel-drive or heavier vehicles as truck SUVs and remaining two-wheel-drive SUVs as car SUVs. These are production shares, not retail sales. EPA, “2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report”
Electric SUV Sales Statistics and Model Availability Trends
Electric SUVs were both a major part of new electric-car registrations and a smaller share of the existing SUV fleet. Model availability also expanded, but the model-count measures do not indicate equal sales volume for each model.
- More than 55% of new electric-car registrations worldwide were SUVs in 2023. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year”
- Around 45% of the global electric-car fleet consisted of SUVs in 2023, rising to 55% of the electric-car fleet in advanced economies. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year”
- Only 5% of SUVs on the road were electric in 2023, showing the difference between new registrations and the installed fleet. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year”
- The world had 500 electric-car models available in 2023, and SUVs represented 60% of those available models. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year”
- Around 16% of SUVs sold worldwide were electric in 2022, with “electric” including BEVs and PHEVs as defined by the IEA. IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
- Nearly 40% of available BEV models were SUVs in 2022, compared with about 30% of available car models worldwide in 2019. IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
- SUVs and large models made up 60% of available BEV options in China and Europe in 2022, while SUVs or large cars exceeded 80% of available U.S. BEV options. IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
For U.S. buyers, the 2022 clean-vehicle-credit price ceiling for smaller SUVs was $80,000, up from $55,000 after the classification change. That is a policy eligibility threshold, not a typical transaction price or sales forecast. IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
SUV Fleet Size, Emissions and Oil-Displacement Outcomes
Fleet and environmental measures describe outcomes associated with vehicles in use, not simply the number sold during a year. The IEA figures below are estimates or modeled results, and combustion emissions are not lifecycle emissions.
| Outcome | Period | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| SUVs in use worldwide | 2023 | More than 360 million |
| SUV combustion-related CO2 | 2023 | About 1 billion tonnes |
| Increase in SUV combustion CO2 | 2022–2023 | Around 100 million tonnes |
| Share of global energy-related CO2 growth | 2023 | More than 20% |
| ICE SUVs added to global fleet | 2023 | About 30 million |
SUVs emitted roughly 20% more CO2 than an average medium-sized car in 2023, reflecting typical vehicle characteristics rather than a controlled test of every SUV. Their combustion-related CO2 rose by around 100 million tonnes from 2022 to 2023, and the increase was equivalent to about half of the emissions growth from the global electricity sector. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year”
The IEA estimated that SUVs accounted for more than 20% of the growth in global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2023. In 2022, electric SUVs displaced more than 150,000 barrels of oil per day, represented roughly 35% of electric passenger light-duty vehicles, and provided about 40% of electric-vehicle oil displacement. IEA, “SUVs are setting new sales records each year” IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
ICE SUVs emitted more than 1 gigatonne of CO2 in 2022. This is a combustion-emissions estimate for internal-combustion SUVs, not a lifecycle assessment. IEA, “Global EV Outlook 2023”
Toyota SUV Sales Statistics by Model and Region
Toyota’s Integrated Report 2024 gives fiscal-2024 series sales in thousands. These company-reported figures are not calendar-year registrations or independently audited model-level market shares.
| Toyota SUV series | Global | North America | China | Europe | Other reported region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAV4 | 1,003,000 | 580,000 | 189,000 | 90,000 | — |
| Highlander | 391,000 | 242,000 | 123,000 | — | — |
| Lexus RX | 241,000 | 134,000 | — | — | — |
| Lexus NX | — | 88,000 | — | — | — |
| C-HR | — | — | — | 105,000 | — |
Toyota also reported 71,000 Harrier vehicles in Japan, 149,000 Wildlander vehicles in China, 92,000 Fortuner vehicles in Asia excluding China, and 158,000 Land Cruiser vehicles in its “Other” markets grouping in fiscal 2024. “Other” is Toyota’s reporting category, not a single country. Toyota, “Integrated Report 2024”
Ford SUV Sales Statistics and U.S. Model Performance
Ford’s figures cover company-reported U.S. calendar-2024 sales. The company’s rankings are presented as company claims, and the model totals use Ford’s own SUV definitions.
- Ford reported 771,042 total U.S. SUV sales in 2024. Ford, “Ford U.S. Retail Sales Grow at Double the Industry Pace in 2024”
- Explorer sales totaled 194,094 U.S. SUVs in 2024, and Ford described Explorer as America’s best-selling three-row SUV. The ranking basis and competitor set are not independently reproduced in the release. Ford, “Ford U.S. Retail Sales Grow at Double the Industry Pace in 2024”
- Expedition sales were 78,035 in 2024, up 6% from 2023. Ford, “Ford U.S. Retail Sales Grow at Double the Industry Pace in 2024”
- Mustang Mach-E sales reached 51,745 in 2024, up 27% from 2023, including 16,119 U.S. sales in the fourth quarter. Ford, “Ford U.S. Retail Sales Grow at Double the Industry Pace in 2024”
Ford’s SUV totals therefore combine a manufacturer-level total with model-specific results, while Toyota’s table uses fiscal-year series reporting. Neither set should be treated as a standardized cross-company market-share comparison.