Australia’s Love of Big Vehicles Comes With Big Costs

Australian households spend more than $450 (US$296) a week on private transport—and as much as $563 in one capital city—as prices in the sector continue to rise, a report shows. But consumers’ choice of vehicles could be the major factor in accelerating price rises, with large SUVs and utes soaring in popularity and costing significantly more than the passenger cars they replace. The Australian Automobile Association released the findings on May 9 in its Transport Affordability Index, which reveals the average household’s transport costs rose by 4.5 percent in the first three months of the year and by 10 percent in the year to March....