We need an Ozempic for cars. They are growing at a phenomenal rate, wreaking havoc on the roads, squeezing out smaller vehicles in car parks and endangering pedestrians.

Like ever-hungry teenagers, cars in Europe are growing, on average, a centimetre wider every year, according to new research reported by the Guardian. And fewer than half of new cars in the UK can fit into a conventional parking space. As there is, remarkably, no width restriction for cars, no law can stop this growth until they reach the size of HGVs – that is, 2.55m wide – which are restricted.

SUVs now comprise a remarkable 30% of cars in England’s cities, compared with just 3% 20 years ago. But it’s not just SUVs that are responsible for what has become known as carspreading. Minis are no longer worthy of the name. They have expanded in all directions and become just a standard medium-sized car.

Carspreading is just the latest negative aspect of our century-long obsession with cars and our obeisance to every demand of the all-powerful motoring lobby. It is not only safety that has been adversely affected. By taking up more room in car parks, SUVs are reducing the number of spaces available. In Hove, the capacity of the Norton Road car park has been cut back from 290 to 180 to accommodate larger vehicles.

The phenomenon of ever-bigger cars has not come about accidentally. It has been sustained by an aggressive marketing campaign, as they are far more profitable for manufacturers than conventional-sized........

© The Guardian