Groups backing the research say bigger cars are less sustainable, make our roads more dangerous and take up more space.
Eco campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) says more than half of new cars sold in 2023 were too wide for the minimum specified on-street parking space (180cm) in major UK cities.
The average width of new cars expanded to 180.3cm in the first half of 2023, up from 177.8cm in 2018, the T&E research found. On average cars were revealed to be getting 1cm wider every two years.
The problem is worse for large luxury SUVs, which measure around 200cm wide and leave very little space. Growing width of these cars is going to exacerbate those pressures. A similarly densely populated city, Paris, will vote on tripling parking fees for SUVs on 4 February.