Not necessarily true. Bigger car doesn't necessarily mean a safer car. It's complicated and SUVs have made car accidents more dangerous because they are heavier and are much more likely to flip compared to a car with a low centre of gravity. They also are far more dangerous AGAINST sedans and hatchbacks due to the mass difference

https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/are-suvs-safer-than-smaller-cars/

Here's an article that looks at some of the research.

SUVs do provide perceived safety because drivers are higher up and in a bigger car but that's not valuable whatsover in an accident.

I don't know about the rest of the world but in Australia SUVs were treated with less restrictive emissions standards as sedans or hatchbacks so car companies pushed them very hard, some fleets completely removing sedans and hatchbacks from their line up and replacing them with Compact SUVs.

I'm pretty certain most of the SUV craze is just very effective marketing.