On the busy streets of London, a new battleground has emerged—not over politics or property, but over parking spaces and the ever-expanding size of the city’s vehicles. On August 29, 2025, campaigners and local officials renewed calls for higher parking charges for SUV drivers, citing concerns over emissions, congestion, and road safety. The debate has grown especially heated as new research revealed there are now 800,000 SUVs cruising London’s roads—a staggering tenfold increase compared to just two decades ago, according to Clean Cities, an organization advocating for active transport.
Once a rarity, SUVs now represent 31% of all cars in London, up from a mere 3% in 2003. The surge isn’t confined to the capital; across England, the proportion of large cars in cities is now ten times higher than it was twenty years ago, as reported by Sky News. This dramatic shift has left urban planners, campaigners, and ordinary drivers grappling with the consequences. London’s SUVs alone occupy the equivalent amount of space as the entire borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Clean Cities found—a statistic that’s hard to ignore for anyone struggling to find a parking spot in the city.
“Drivers are struggling to park because of ‘car spreading,’ while people walking and cycling are more at risk,” Oliver Lord, UK Head of Clean Cities, told Sky News. “If we want cities that are safer for children and allow us all to move around easier, we need to take action.” Lord and other campaigners are urging city leaders to follow the example set by Paris, where last year the French capital tripled parking costs for SUVs from €6 (£5.20) to €18 (£15.60) an hour in the city center. Local reports from Paris suggest these higher charges are already reducing SUV numbers, making the policy an attractive model for London and other British cities.
The calls for action come as new studies highlight the risks posed by these larger vehicles. According to Clean Cities, SUVs are not just taking up more space—they’re also more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. The group’s research shows that SUVs on UK roads are 14% more likely to kill a pedestrian or cyclist and a shocking 77% more likely to kill a child compared to traditional passenger cars. The Vias Institute also found that the chance of a pedestrian or cyclist dying from being hit by a car is 30% higher for vehicles with bonnets 90cm tall compared to those with 80cm bonnets.
Tests with some SUV models have produced eye-opening results. In the case of a Land Rover Defender, the driver reportedly cannot see children up to four and a half years old due to the height of the bonnet. For the even larger Ram TRX, that figure rises to nine years old—meaning a child could easily be hidden from view, even when standing close to the vehicle. “Despite being advertised as exciting, family friendly cars, the evidence is mounting to show that SUVs are more dangerous, especially to children, and are hogging space on our already congested roads,” James Ward of the campaign group SUV Alliance told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
Beyond safety, environmental concerns loom large. Petrol and hybrid SUVs emit more carbon dioxide per kilometer than older cars of the same fuel type, according to a recent study cited by MyLondon. Even as more electric SUVs hit the market, campaigners argue that larger vehicles inevitably drain more energy and resources than their smaller counterparts. In England, SUVs now account for 30% of new car sales, a tenfold increase since 2002-03. “Almost two thirds of all new cars sold are SUVs—they give a higher profit margin to manufacturers, who prioritize selling them,” Oliver Lord explained to the LDRS. “We’re really up against it with this—consumers are actually becoming more limited in choice.”
Some London boroughs have responded by introducing progressive tariffs based on carbon emissions, but Lord warns these schemes are “swiftly becoming out of date” as electric and hybrid SUVs, like the plug-in hybrid Land Rover, become more common. He recommends boroughs revisit their parking charges and consider a weight-based tariff, which would more effectively target the heaviest and largest vehicles regardless of fuel type. Lord also suggested that any changes to the Congestion Charge should encourage electric vehicles while adding a surcharge for the largest cars, discouraging SUV use in urban areas.
Political leaders are feeling the pressure. In June, Labour’s Environment spokesperson on the London Assembly, Elly Baker, moved a motion to address the impacts of ‘carspreading’—a term used when vehicles get too wide for urban spaces. The motion called on the Mayor to ask ministers to enforce tighter limits on vehicle sizes, put a tax on vehicle weight, and allow councils to impose higher parking charges on SUVs. “London’s limited road space wasn’t designed for the monster vehicles we are now seeing sold,” Baker told the LDRS. “SUVs are clogging up our street space, making parking difficult, and the increased bonnet height and weight increase the risk of serious injury or death in a collision. We should be placing limits on the size of normal vehicles, and exploring increased charges where appropriate.”
The Mayor of London’s office has acknowledged the challenge. A spokesperson told MyLondon: “The Mayor, Transport for London and borough partners are working to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on our roads, by expanding the cycle network, making road crossings and junctions safer, reducing speed limits on our roads, and making larger vehicles like HGVs and buses safer. This year, the Mayor will be refreshing his Vision Zero Action Plan to restate his commitment to reducing road danger and responding to new and emerging risks on our roads.” Oliver Lord echoed the urgency, warning that without radical change, the Mayor’s Vision Zero plan—which aims to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries from the capital’s transport network by 2041—will fail. “Heavier cars are more likely to be involved in fatal collisions,” Lord said.
Not everyone is on board with the proposed measures. Ian Taylor, spokesperson for the Alliance of British Drivers, argued to Sky News that it is “perfectly ok and justifiable for a lot of people to have bigger vehicles,” pointing out that other vehicles, such as those for commercial use, have also grown in size. “It is not fair to make life more expensive and unpleasant for people who operate such vehicles,” Taylor added, highlighting the ongoing tension between personal choice and public safety.
As the city’s leaders, campaigners, and residents continue to debate the future of SUVs in London, the facts are clear: these vehicles are bigger, more numerous, and more controversial than ever. Whether higher parking charges, new regulations, or public campaigns will tip the balance remains to be seen. What’s certain is that the conversation isn’t going away anytime soon, and the outcome will shape the streets—and the air—of London for years to come.
