‘Saves 60 to 80 km range’
Like his Peugeot colleague, the CEO of Citroën believes that SUVs as we know them are short-lived. The reason: they are aerodynamically inefficient, while that is extra important with electric driving.
Are the days of the ‘thoroughbred’ SUV numbered? It’s starting to look more and more like it. For EVs, more and more manufacturers are grabbing more streamlined and lower carriages. Think for example of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Mercedes-Benz EQE. Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson said recently in conversation with AutoWeek that, according to her, long-legged models will remain, but more in the spirit of non-SUVs such as the Peugeot 408. Vincent Cobée, the CEO of Citroën, formulates the opposite AutoExpress even sharper: “The time of SUVs is over.”
He does state, like Jackson, that high models remain, but that this is indeed a different kind of ‘SUV’ with sedan-like shapes. “They are only called SUVs because they are a bit higher (than sedans, ed.).” According to Cobée, the end of the traditional SUV has been heralded by electric propulsion. “If your aerodynamics are wrong with a BEV, it will be punished enormously in the range. Between an SUV and a sedan you can easily talk about a 60/70/80 kilometer difference.”
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl