SUV drivers warned they may be unable to park 'anywhere' in UK

SUV cars are being targeted by experts as a "worrying" parking trend grows across the country. Transport & Environment warned in its 2024 General Election Transport Briefing parking spaces may not be big enough for 4x4s which may need to be addressed.

It said: “Although EVs are cutting emissions, the benefits are being reduced because new petrol and diesel cars’ emissions are going up. This is caused by the growth of the sports utility vehicle (SUV). T&E identified the worrying trend of cars growing wider across Europe and the UK is no exception.”

James Nix, Vehicles Policy Manager at T&E, said: “Cars have been getting wider for decades and that trend will continue until we set a stricter limit. Currently the law allows new cars to be as wide as trucks. The result has been big SUVs and American style pick-up trucks parking on our footpaths and endangering pedestrians, cyclists and everyone else on the road.”

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Barbara Stoll, Director of the Clean Cities Campaign, said: “Monster SUVs are a threat to the urban fabric of our cities. Unless we act now, more and more of our precious public space will be taken away from people by ever larger cars – this is not the cleaner, brighter and greener future that citizens want.

"On 4 February, Parisians have a unique opportunity to lead the way and say no to these polluting and dangerous giants taking over our streets.” The average width of new cars expanded to 180.3 cm in the first half of 2023, up from 177.8 cm in 2018, the T&E research finds.

Among the top 100 models in 2023, 52 per cent of vehicles sold were too wide for the minimum specified on-street parking space (180 cm) in major cities, including London, Paris and Rome, the research also finds.