Cars gained 400 kilograms in 7 years

According to the Autocar portal, the average weight of a new car has increased by almost 400 kilograms over the past seven years. The average weight of new cars thus grew from 1,553 to 1,947 kilograms.

The increase is partly the result of the growing popularity of SUVs or SUVs. Autocar tested 16 SUVs in 2016, and their average weight was 1,722 kilograms, or 169 kilograms more than all other models. In 2023, 24 SUVs, semi-trucks and crossover models were tested, and their average weight was 1,985 kilograms, which is only 38 kilograms less than the general average. The difference between SUVs and other models has thus narrowed in a very short time.

Cars have also gotten fatter due to electrification. Electric models tested by Autocar last year weighed an average of 1,991 kilograms, or 100 kilograms more than internal combustion cars. If we exclude hybrid cars from the latter, which carry a large burden due to batteries and electric motors, the figure drops to 1,841 kilograms, or 150 kilograms less than the average electric car.

And the trend continues. The average weight of cars tested in the first quarter of 2024, which were mostly electric, SUVs or both, was 2,087 kilograms. As an interesting fact, the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV weighs as much as 2,899 kilograms.

An important role is also played by the decline in the production of city and mini cars. Every year there are fewer cars weighing under 1,000 kilograms, which is clearly noticeable when calculating the average car weight.