Cars are getting bigger

Are parking spaces getting smaller? No, it’s the cars that are getting wider. Half a centimetre per year might not sound much but it has been adding up for decades now. 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.”

Among the top 100 car models in 2023, T&E's research indicates that 52% of vehicles sold were too wide for the minimum on-street parking space in major cities. This includes bustling metropolises like London, Paris, and Rome. Even off-street parking is becoming a tight squeeze, especially for large luxury SUVs, which can measure around 200 cm wide, leaving little space for car occupants to maneuver.
Several European cities have already taken steps to address this trend by introducing stricter parking rules for SUVs. Paris, in particular, is spearheading change and has called for a referendum to triple parking fees for heavy cars.

T&E proposes that EU lawmakers mandate a review of maximum car width when updating legislation, and city authorities should implement parking charges and tolls based on vehicle size and weight. These measures aim to ensure that larger vehicles pay a fair price for using more space, contributing to a cleaner, safer, and greener urban future.

Transport & Environment press release 22 January 2024