Rise of Chelsea Tractors: There’s now 159 different SUV models available to buy compared to 30 in 2000

It’s an age old debate: What came first, the chicken or the egg? 

Now a similar question is being asked about the shift in the types of cars on sale in Britain today and the increase in popularity of SUVs.

That’s because market analysis has revealed that the number of ‘sport utility vehicles’ – often dubbed Chelsea Tractors by those who despise them – available in showrooms today has grown by a staggering 430 per cent since the turn of the century.

The SUV takeover: A market review shows just 30 different SUVs were offered by major car brands back in 2000. Fast forward to today and there are 159 to choose from. Alfa Romeo, for instance, currently sells just three car models – two are SUVs (including the Stelvio pictured)

In 2000, just 30 different models were available in Britain. Today, that number has grown exponentially to 159 versions across the major manufacturers.

The big question is: have manufacturers started to make more of them out of choice or because there has been a surge in demand from motorists?

It comes after green transport campaigners warned SUVs are now taking over the road and becoming too big for parking spaces in Britain.

The rapid rise of the SUV has been revealed by online automotive marketplace CarGurus.

It analysed 35 of the UK’s most popular car brands to track the rise and fall of body styles offered to customers since 2000.

And it shows that the choice of SUVs on the market has hit record levels now that 159 different models are on sale in this segment.

It’s yet more evidence that Britain’s are turning to high-riding, boxier vehicles with improved visibility over the rest of the traffic and an increased sense of protection.

Yet the growth in different models available is also a sign of changing SUV class, which now incorporates ‘crossovers’.

These are often smaller models with only two-wheel drive and commonly based on an existing hatchback or coupe model model. For instance, the Ford Puma crossover is underpinned by the same platform as the Fiesta supermini.

Every brand reviewed offers at least one SUV in their range, with an average of five models per brand, the study found.

Two makes – BMW and Audi – feature 15 different SUVs within each of their ranges. 

By comparison, less than half of the manufacturers scrutinised sold an SUV model during the period between 2000 and 2004.

Even sports car makers, including Aston Martin (DBX), Bentley (Bentayga), Ferrari (Purosangue), Lamborghini (Urus) and Porsche (Macan and Cayenne) have at least one SUV in their ranks today.

SUVs have become such big business in recent years that even Ferrari has one (though it still won’t acknowledge the Purosangue is an SUV)

Bentley now has the Bentayga SUV and even Lamborghini launched its Urus back in 2018 – the latter is the Italian brand’s best-selling model by some distance

CarGurus says Volkswagen – the UK’s most popular new car brand – offered just one SUV model between 2000 and 2004. But the end of 2023, it had eight SUVs across its vehicle range

The report comes hot on the heels of fresh warnings from campaigners about the sheer size of vehicles being sold in Britain, claiming many cars are simply too big for our roads.

Separate analysis by Transport and Environment published last month shows that the average width of cars sold in the UK is growing by 1cm every two years, pointing the finger squarely at the increase in availability of sports utility vehicles.

The study found that more than half of motors in showrooms today are wider than a standard 180cm on-street parking bay. 

And while the average new car has swollen to 180.3cm – or 200cm with its wing mirrors out – the campaigners fired a broadside at a breed it dubs ‘mega SUVs’, which are 200cm wide on average, or 220cm with wing mirrors.

Transport & Environment says the wider cars are leaving less room for other road users

The expanding availability of SUVs is also being driven by the switch to electrification, CarGurus said. 

Of the 159 different SUVs in dealerships in 2024, 41 are electric vehicles (EVs). 

In fact, more than half (54 per cent) of all battery-powered models sold in showrooms today are SUVs, easily eclipsing the availability of electric superminis, estates and MPVs.

This has resulted in warnings of a different nature from structural engineers.

Chris Whapples, a professional who consultant on the construction of car parks, said last year that new guidance is being developed recommending higher load bearing weights for multistorey car parks to accommodate heavier EVs. 

Most of the nation’s 6,000 multistorey and underground facilities were built according to guidance from the 1970s, when the weight of the average car – such as a Mk3 Ford Cortina, was 1.5 tonnes.

Most combustion cars are far heavier than that today, though some of the biggest EV models – such as the Mercedes EQS SUV – tip the scale at over 2.8 tonnes. 

Whapples said in April: ‘Operators need to be aware of electric vehicle weights, and get their car parks assessed from a strength point of view, and decide if they need to limit weight.’

The Mercedes EQS SUV is one of the latest breed of large electric models. It tips the scales at over 2.8 tonnes

SUVs could soon be the most popular new car type

The popularity of SUVs has sky-rocketed in the last decade in particular, as highlighted in an exclusive report by This is Money in January.

It showed that while small cars remain the most popular across all vehicle types in the UK, SUVs are gradually closing the gap as more drivers switch to larger, high-riding models.

In 2013, ‘dual purpose’ sports utility vehicles represented only 11 per cent of the market.

But a boom in demand in recent years has seen SUVs overtake family hatches to become the nation’s second most popular car type, making up 28.6 per cent of all registrations (only small city cars and superminis sell in greater volumes).

In 2013, SUVs represented just over one in ten (11%) of all new cars. Fast forward a decade and they now account for almost three in ten (28.6%). In terms of passenger vehicle type, only city cars/superminis sell in greater numbers

According to official registration data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, seven of the nation’s 10 best selling cars in 2023 were SUVs, with the Ford Puma and Nissan Qashqai topping the chart. 

And the growing appetite for SUV is being reflected in showrooms.

The growing demand for SUVs, coupled with the need for manufacturers to invest heavily in EVs, has also resulted in a decrease in availability of other body styles. 

The CarGurus analysis found that the number of new convertibles offered in the UK today has halved since 2005 (down 56 per cent), while there has been a 70 per cent decline in MPVs (to just 29 models) and 42 per cent drop in hatchbacks (only 67 now available).

Chris Knapman, editorial director at CarGurus, said consumers are now ‘spoilt for choice’ when it comes to SUVs, and says the study is further evidence that British drivers are ‘increasingly turning away from other car body types that once dominated the roads’. 

He added: ‘There is almost certain to be a model to suit individual needs and budgets, yet there are a number of things to consider when purchasing this car body type. 

‘Key considerations include vehicle dimensions, boot space, towing capacity, powertrain type, and the option of two- or four-wheel-drive.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk