Smaller cities

It looks even more promising in smaller or western cities, said industry insiders.

The percentage of SUVs in overall passenger vehicle sales in first-tier cities has been dropping since 2009, Zeng Yehui, brand supervisor at Chinese SUV maker GAC Gonow told the forum.

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Zeng said the figure has been growing steadily in third-tier cities, reaching 39.3 percent on average in 2013, especially in western regions with demanding topography.

Sinotrust's Lin agreed with Zeng's judgment. A survey by his company shows that SUV sales in Yunnan, Gansu, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces as well as Chongqing municipality increased more than 50 percent in 2013.

The proportion of SUVs in the local passenger vehicle markets is more than 50 percent in the Tibet autonomous region and at or above 30 percent in the autonomous regions Xinjiang and Ningxia.

While large and mid-sized SUVs are increasingly popular in the western regions, Lin said compact models will continue to take the lion's share nationwide this year and the small-sized versions are expected to emerge as another popular segment.

In China, SUVs are classified into five categories ranging from full-size to small, according to CAAM.

Lin's survey shows at least 14 small SUV models by both joint venture and indigenous brands have been or will be unveiled this year.

Shi from CAAM attributed the popularity of small SUVs to lower prices and lower fuel consumption.

"In a society that advocates energy saving and emission reduction, the smaller SUVs will have a promising market for a long period to come," he said.

Due to people's increasing awareness of environmental protection, SUV manufacturers are coming up with a wide array of energy-efficient models.

Among them, hybrids remain the most popular, while pure electric models are the last choice, according to Lin's survey.

Lin also noted there will be more room for diesel SUVs in the next few years as diesel supplies have become abundant over the past decade.

The Chinese government is updating its standards for diesel fuel and diesel engines are becoming less noisy and more environmentally friendly.

Top 10 best-selling SUVs in Chinese mainland	Top 10 best-selling cars in Chinese mainland