Gloom: Only two new cars under one ton, but many over three

Contents

The increasing proportion of electric cars and hybrids has caused the average weight of cars to rise recently - but the heaviest cars are often powered by combustion engines.

Who sells the heaviest cars? For Germany, depending on how you look at it, it's the Ineos or Cadillac brands. Rolls-Royce, Bentley and the electric car manufacturer Fisker are also among the heaviest in the country, according to figures from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) on new registrations last year. It is easy to find an unladen weight of more than two and a half tons – even if motorhomes and small commercial vehicles are excluded. Models weighing less than 1000 kg, on the other hand, are rare.

The three heaviest are rare

With an unladen weight of 3472 kg, the Cadillac Escalade clearly leads the ranking. All model series listed individually in the KBA's statistics on new registrations according to environmental characteristics were considered. The number two, the Mercedes Maybach, comes a long way behind with 3027 kg, followed by the Ineos Grenadier with 3002 kg. All three vehicles are rare in Germany, with just over 1000 new registrations between them in 2023. But if you draw the line at two and a half tons, there are two dozen model series and tens of thousands of cars from the SUV, off-road vehicle and luxury class segments. It is not possible to give an exact figure, as the KBA only ever specifies one weight per model series, but the individual cars can then vary in terms of engine or equipment.

Only two models weigh less than a ton

The KBA now only lists two model series under 1000 kg: the small cars Mitsubishi Mirage with 954 kg and Suzuki Ignis (test Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Dualjet Allgrip) with 971 kg. Together, they accounted for around a third fewer new registrations than cars over two and a half tons. Here, too, the exact figure cannot be determined. Incidentally, the KBA still listed four model series under one tonne in 2022, and as many as 15 ten years ago.

Over 200 kg increase in ten years

For 2023, the KBA gives a figure of 1696 kg. However, this includes heavy motorhomes and utilities, which will push the average up by around 50 kg. Although there is no change compared to 2022, it is significant in the long term: in 2013, the average weight was still 1475 kg.

Why are new cars getting heavier? There are several drivers behind this development: firstly, small cars in particular are less attractive for manufacturers because they typically generate lower margins. As a result, supply has fallen. On the other hand, SUVs and off-road vehicles, which are generally heavier than comparable cars with a flatter body due to their design, are booming. Better safety, assistance and comfort features are contributing to this development.

However, hybrids and, above all, purely electric cars, which tend to be heavier, are having a particularly strong impact here. The large batteries of pure electric cars and the additional electric motor and smaller batteries of hybrids are anything but light. You won't find any battery electric cars weighing less than a ton. There has also been progress in lightweight construction. However, these cannot compensate for the increase in weight.

Are only electric cars heavy?

No, you don't need a large battery to be at the top of the weight scale. The Escalade, for example, is usually powered by a petrol engine. This has consequences for consumption and CO₂ emissions, which even according to the often rather optimistic official consumption measurements are 13 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers or more than 300 grams of CO₂ per kilometer. And that's not even the maximum: other vehicles in the over two and a half ton class sometimes consume two or three liters more. Things look different at the other end of the weight scale: Under 1200 kg, petrol engines usually have official consumption figures with a five before the decimal point and CO₂ emissions of just over 100 grams per kilometer.

Particularly important brands

If you look at brands rather than model series, Ineos is the heaviest. The KBA only lists the Grenadier model series here with 3002 kg. It is followed by Rolls-Royce with 2757, Fisker with 2561 and Bentley with 2509 kg. However, these are all rather rare cars. Looking only at brands with at least one percent market share, Volvo weighs the most with an average of 2139 kg. It is followed by Tesla with 2015 kg, a large proportion of which are batteries, ahead of Mercedes with 2011. Porsche is in fourth place with 1988 kg, because all the lightweight construction in the Swabian sports cars cannot compensate for the pounds of the brand's now numerous SUVs and luxury saloons.

BMW is at 1893, Ford at 1804 and Audi at 1772 kg - all above the German average. VW remains below at 1590, as do its subsidiaries Skoda and Seat at 1550 and 1525 respectively, while Opel comes in at 1444 kg. The lightest brand with at least one percent market share in Germany is Dacia. Its average weight is 1268 kg.

(mki)