More than a million oversized cars are being sold in the UK every year — and many of them are literally too big to fit into a standard parking space. And the trend isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
Since 2021, around 4.6 million cars sold in the UK have been larger than the average city parking bay. The rise of bulkier vehicles, especially SUVs, means that new cars are outgrowing the towns and cities they’re meant to be driven in. At the same time, streets and parking spaces haven’t changed to accommodate this growth.
A large portion of these sales are SUVs, often measuring over 1.8 metres wide or 4.8 metres long. That makes them too bulky for most city infrastructure. In 2024 alone, a record-breaking 1.2 million cars wider than 1.8 metres were sold in the UK.
But size isn’t just an inconvenience — it’s a safety issue. Larger cars tend to be more dangerous in accidents, especially for people outside the vehicle. Their extra height and weight mean pedestrians and cyclists are more likely to be pulled underneath in a collision rather than pushed aside. These vehicles also produce more harmful emissions, which adds to air pollution.
Oliver Lord, head of the UK branch of Clean Cities, summed it up by saying, “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 to buy a massive SUV [sports utility vehicle] that you should expect to pay more for the space it takes up.”
Some cities are already taking action. Paris has introduced special parking fees for SUVs, charging drivers up to three times more than those with standard-sized cars. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has signaled support for similar schemes. In the UK, local councils like Bath and Islington have started rolling out their own charges for larger, heavier vehicles.
Another issue is road damage. Heavier cars contribute more to potholes and general wear and tear, creating extra maintenance costs for local authorities. And because these vehicles are often driven in urban areas — where their extra size and power isn’t really needed — the downsides are amplified.
In Parliament, Green Party peer Jenny Jones recently launched a cross-party campaign to push back on SUV sales. She pointed out that “Sales of SUVs have leapt up in the last two decades, yet many urban streets and car parking bays are simply too small to accommodate the increasing girth of these vehicles.
“I like what Paris has done to discourage their use, by charging the largest cars as much as three times more to park. In the UK, Bath and Islington councils have introduced similar measures. The government should encourage other councils to replicate these efforts. SUVs pollute and are often owned and driven by wealthier citizens at the expense of those in less wealthy areas. They feel safer to drive, but are much less safe for any pedestrians and cyclists they collide with.”
In short, if UK cities don’t take action soon, our urban spaces will keep getting more crowded, more polluted, and more unsafe — all because cars are getting too big for the world around them.
Have you noticed the growing size of cars in your local car parks? Let us know in the comments...
