A high proportion of top-selling passenger vehicles in NZ are utes or SUVs, with the double-cab light truck becoming an urban vehicle. Also, marketing videos for SUV’s in NZ promote aggressive driving, such as skidding and jumping. However, light trucks on city streets are bad for several reasons:

1. Cyclists and pedestrians struck by one of these vehicles are roughly twice as likely to die or be seriously injured compared with a crash involving a small car;
2. SUV’s emit more CO2 than other vehicles;
3. SUV’s can overhang parking/footpaths due to their excessive size, making cycling/walking more difficult.

While marketing may still be weighted heavily in favour of the auto industry, there are ways the government could promote smaller, cleaner, and safer vehicles:

• Remove the dirtiest/oldest SUV’s from NZ using financial incentives;
• Establish vehicle low-emission zones in city centres;
• Ban marketing of diesel vehicles that don’t meet up-to-date emission standards;
• Planetary health warnings could be compulsory in all advertising of products with relatively high-emissions.

For more information, see:
https://theconversation.com/aggressive-marketing-has-driven-the-rise-of-the-double-cab-ute-on-new-zealand-streets-time-to-hit-the-brakes-165075