Debate about the suitability of the larger sports utility vehicles has become increasingly heated, fuelled by negative publicity about exhaust emissions due to their considerable fuel thirst.
But EurotaxGlass's, publishers of the motoring trade's famous Glass's Guide to Used Car Values, says all this has had a negligible impact on both new registrations and second-hand prices of the luxury-marque SUVs.
"Given the investment required to buy and run a pricey SUV, proposed increases in congestion charges, and the new road fund duty are unlikely to impact on sales, says Richard Crosthwaite, prestige car editor at EurotaxGlass's.
Concerns
"Owners' concerns about running costs are simply more likely to result in a higher proportion of diesel models being sold compared to petrol - rather than a migration of buyers away from the sector as a whole.
And, tellingly, he predicts: "Ecological concerns will not drive down registrations in the way that many people currently think."
However, EurotaxGlass's says the values of volume-brand models will not be so resilient this year as those manufactured by Mercedes and BMW.
Crosthwaite addds: "There will be a further sizeable influx of mid-sized SUVs from the volume-brand manufacturers this year, yet there is little to suggest that there will be a commensurate uplift in demand necessary to bolster residuals over the medium term."
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