A new survey by Volkswagen of America of 1,000 SUV owners shows that nine of 10 expect to own such a vehicle in the future.
"This survey confirms that our current portfolio of SUVs aligns with what consumers are prioritizing here in the U.S.," said Hein Schafer, senior vice president of product marketing and strategy for Volkswagen of America, in a statement "All of our SUVs rank high on independent measures of comfort, standard safety features and passenger space within their classes, and we're focused on those priorities as we develop new entries like our upcoming subcompact SUV."
VW's Chattanooga plant assembles two SUVs, the Atlas and the Atlas Cross Sport. The company last month started an $800 million expansion to produce an all-electric SUV by 2022, which will result in hiring about 1,000 new workers in addition to the nearly 4,000 already at the plant.
The survey polled drivers in the United States who currently own or lease an SUV and identify it as their primary household vehicle.
Overall, the survey indicated safety and comfort are the two features that matter most when it comes to purchasing SUVs. Results also showed that families are spending a lot of time together in SUVs and that third rows are being used a lot more than previously thought.
The survey showed that safety and comfort rank high in importance but vary by gender.
Nearly nine in 10 owners ranked SUVs as the best vehicles for your money (96 percent) and indicated that they do not plan on owning any vehicle other than an SUV in the future (87 percent). Drivers also agreed that they feel more confident on the road when driving an SUV (94 percent), the survey said.
More than eight in 10 parents said they have family discussions in their SUV, creating a new space for family time, whether on the way to school or on a family road trip, according to VW.
Parents, more than non-parents, agree that they expect to continue to own an SUV from now on (90 percent) and use their SUV as a place for family discussions.
SUV owners with a third row are more likely to say family discussions take place in their SUV (75 percent compared with 60 percent of owners without a third row and younger SUV owners (18-34 and 35-54) and parents are more likely to use their third row on a daily basis.
Also, Gen Z and Millennials rank the overall safety of the vehicle as most important when it comes to their SUVs, followed by handling on rough roads, whereas drivers ages 55-plus ranked comfortable seating as most important, the survey showed.