Best known for its sleek sedans and high-performance sports cars, Jaguar delivered a double surprise at this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

Shown in concept form, the new I-Pace will be the British maker’s first battery-electric vehicle. But it won’t be your typically boring and boxy EV with barely enough energy for a day’s commute. The sleek five-seater will have “at least” 220 miles of range when it comes to market in 2018 – and yet it will be able to launch from 0 to 60 in four seconds or less.

Soaring Demand for SUVs

Then there’s Jaguar’s decision to go with an SUV, rather than a compact sedan or hatchback, design for the new I-Pace. But perhaps that should be no surprise at all. While sales of plug-based vehicles, as well as conventional hybrids, lag in a market soaking in cheap oil, demand for traditional SUVs and newer cross-over utility vehicles has been soaring.

That’s all the more obvious considering the flood of new utes debuting this week in L.A., a show that has traditional been focused on green machines.

The new Jeep Compass has been completely redesigned to resemble the hot-selling Jeep Grand Cherokee and is expected to have much better on-road manners. Jeep

They’re coming from virtually everywhere in the automotive world, and from brands that might come as a surprise, including Italy’s Alfa Romeo, a marque best known for sleek sports cars such as the 4C two-seater, and sport sedans like the Giulia that headlined the 2015 L.A. Auto Show.

Electric Still A Live Wire

That’s not to say battery-based vehicles were absent entirely in L.A: Top of the roster was the new Chevrolet Volt, which was just named Motor Trend Car of the Year and took the trophy for Green Car of the Year.

Several automakers showed off alternative-power models during the show. But, like the Jaguar I-Pace, some are wrapped within utility vehicle-style bodies.

Subaru, an earlier pioneer in crossovers, has a concept car that will be the brand’s biggest vehicle ever, offering three rows for the first time. Subaru

The surge should be no surprise. Utility vehicles of all sorts, from compact crossovers to large and more traditional models, such as the Land Rover Discovery making its U.S. debut this week, are the sole hot spot in a cooling American automotive market.

Light trucks, in general, now account for about 60 percent of new vehicle sales, but demand for pickups has begun to soften, even as incentives increase.

We Love Our SUVs

Consumers appear to like the higher seating position, the more rugged versatility — and the general style of utes. Manufacturers are only happy to oblige considering these vehicles tend to deliver much higher profit margins than similarly sized sedans.

With fuel prices at near rock bottom levels, demand is expected to remain strong. And analyst Joe Phillippi, of AutoTrends Consulting, doesn’t expect that to change even if prices rise a bit, noting that today’s utes typically carry only modest penalties — in some cases as little as one or two miles per gallon — compared to similar-sized passenger cars.

Ford has been a long-time player in the SUV market with models ranging from the Edge to Explorer. Now it has downsized to the Ecosport, its smallest U.S. ute yet. Ford

Hoping to tap into this trend, a number of automakers are entering the SUV segment for the first time. The last year has brought the debut of the Jaguar F-Pace, the Maserati Levante and the Bentley Bentayga. High-line makers set to follow include Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini.

Alfa Romeo is also getting into the act, with its Stelvio. The new model will share much of its basics with the Giulia sedan that debuted last year — but which is just now set to go on sale in the U.S. The name, Stelvio, incidentally, refers to one of the most treacherous passes through the Italian Alps, a route beloved by sports car fans.

The Roundup

Other big SUV and CUV debuts include: