Britain’s streets are being overrun by supersized SUVs, with a staggering 4.6 million sold since 2021—despite the fact they barely fit into standard parking spaces.
That’s 1.2 million a year, according to Clean Cities, a European campaign group fighting for greener, safer urban transport.
These gas-guzzling giants on average measure more than 1.8m wide or 4.8m long, Clean Cities says they aren’t just an inconvenience but are clogging up roads, chewing up tarmac, and making our cities more dangerous, particularly for pedestrians, cyclists and those in smaller cars.
Oliver Lord, UK Head of Clean Cities, didn’t mince his words:
Cars are getting bigger every year—while our streets are not. We need carmakers to prioritise normal-sized cars that can be parked more easily and are less dangerous to people walking around. It’s only fair—if you want a massive SUV, you should expect to pay more for the space it takes up.”
Tax increase
Campaigners are now calling for higher taxes on oversized SUVs and parking charges based on vehicle size to tackle what they’re calling ‘carspreading’—the way bloated vehicles hog urban space.
Clean Cities says the public agrees. A YouGov poll found:
61% of car owners believe SUVs take up too much space.
71% say they make parking harder.
54% back extra SUV taxes to fix Britain’s pothole-ridden roads.
Heavier Cars = More Crashes & Potholes
It’s not just space—heavier SUVs are proving to be more deadly A new UK academic paper warns that heavier vehicles are more likely to cause fatal crashes, with the trend set to worsen as average car weight continues to climb.
SUVs also wreck roads faster. According to the ‘fourth power law,’ a two-tonne SUV does 16 times more damage to roads than a one-tonne car.Rain makes it worse, with the weight of SUVs forcing water into tiny cracks, breaking up the surface.
The result? A pothole crisis. Drivers in England and Wales hit an average of six potholes per mile, with the RAC estimating repair costs at around £500 per vehicle—sometimes much more.
With 96% of drivers saying potholes need fixing, campaigners argue it’s time for SUV owners to pay their fair share.
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