4x4s hit for six

Has the 4x4 bubble finally burst?

After 10 years of continuous growth in the SUV sector, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has announced that 4x4 sales fell by 14 per cent in November.

In fact, SUV sales have fallen every month this year with the exception of March. This is in contrast to sales of small cars and people carriers, which have increased significantly this year.

Motor groups have blamed the slump in sales on a combination of public resentment of SUVs and increasing Government pressure.

Gordon Brown's introduction of a £215 top rate of vehicle excise duty for the most polluting cars has been singled out, along with Ken Livingstone's announcement in July that he was considering trebling the congestion charge for Band G vehicles.

While environmentalists have hailed the news of falling sales as a victory, the RAC said that much criticism of 4x4s was ill-informed, with many people carriers and large saloons creating more pollution than the smaller SUVs.

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