Overview

• SUVs now make up about 30% of cars in English cities, rising from roughly 3% two decades ago, with London’s fleet growing from about 80,000 in 2002 to around 800,000 in 2023.
• Clean Cities’ spatial analysis says London’s SUVs would cover an area the size of Kensington and Chelsea if parked side by side, and England’s 8.2 million would exceed Manchester.
• Researchers report higher fatality risk for people outside larger vehicles, with studies highlighting particularly elevated danger to children and tests showing some tall-front SUVs can’t see young children directly in front.
• Campaigners want weight‑ or size‑based parking charges modeled on Paris, while councils in Cardiff, Lambeth, Bristol and Bath are developing or consulting on such measures and Edinburgh has curbed SUV advertising.
• Polling for Clean Cities finds 59% of Londoners support higher SUV parking fees, though the Alliance of British Drivers opposes making ownership more costly.