The majority of trips made by double-cab utes do not require large, high-powered vehicles, according to a new analysis of national travel data.
In the latest Public Health Communication Centre briefing, researchers examined how the vehicles were being used, and whether their "widespread uptake" was justified.
Findings in the paper covered data from the New Zealand Household Travel Survey, covering the period of 2015 to 2020.
Despite marketing of the vehicles containing heavy rural themes, findings showed 66% of ute trips were made by drivers living in urban areas.
Researchers said travel by double-cab utes was also more likely to be work related than those driving cars or station wagons, however this remained a minority of trips.
One-third of use was for shopping, social activities, personal appointments, or drop-offs, as similar to other cars. A quarter of trips were less than five minutes for both utes and cars, and half were less than 10 minutes.
Researchers also found the rear cab was "seldom used" and 88% of ute trips were driver-only.
Use was also "highly gendered", with the male to female ratio of drivers at 5:1.
"Overall, we found that extreme power, size and 4-wheel drive are not required for most trips undertaken in New Zealand by double-cab ute. For most urban trips, smaller, less polluting vehicles that do not pose such a risk to children, pedestrians, or the climate could do the job."
What 'harms' do utes create?
Researchers said both utes and SUVs were much more polluting for both climate and local air quality, and added the growth in the number of light trucks was the "second biggest global contributor" to increases in climate pollution in the 2010s.
"Locally, it is estimated that the social cost of hospital admissions and premature deaths due to tail-pipe NOx (nitrogen oxides) and fine particles in New Zealand is seven times greater per km for diesel vans and utes than for petrol cars."
The researchers also pointed to the "overhang" of the large vehicles – reducing the "usability and safety of street spaces".
"Despite these harms, utes now dominate the list of our best-selling vehicles."
However, they said vehicle supersizing was not always inevitable.
"The oil shocks of the 1970s resulted in a significant downsizing of passenger vehicles. Downsizing is arguably even more pressing now – with more crowded cities and a heating climate."
The researchers noted New Zealand could pursue similar policies to countries overseas, including higher sales taxes on heavier vehicles, which has been implemented in France and Norway, and linking parking charges to vehicle weight or size, which has been implemented in a number of German, French and UK cities.
Other policies included resisting pressure to "supersize" parking spaces, reducing the advertising of high polluting vehicles, and reforming the "fringe benefit tax system" which "continues to encourage vehicle supersizing in Aotearoa".
The vehicle safety "star" system could also be changed, they said, which could ensure pedestrian and cyclist crash-worthiness are "sufficiently recognised" and "not just a risk to those driving a vehicle".
On ute-use data, co-author of the paper, University of Auckland professor Alistair Woodward said: "Many of these trips could be undertaken using smaller, safer, lower-emission vehicles.
"The data show that for most journeys, the size, power and off-road capability of double-cab utes are not required."
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