Cities fight against “car ownership”: SUVs pay more parking fees in France and Germany

‘Autobesitas’: this is the new term with which Paris engages in the fight against the big sport utility vehicles (SUV). In a city council plan, overweight cars will pay more parking fees. New tariffs are set to come into effect from January 2024 to “halt the rampant growth in car weight and size”, according to a press release. Figures from the municipality show that the number of SUVs in the city has increased by 60% over the past four years, causing more and more nuisance. “There are no muddy tracks or mountain roads here, an SUV is completely useless in the city,” said Deputy Mayor of Paris Christophe Najdovski.

Earlier, French Lyon and German Tübingen, among others, announced that parking permits for large cars would become considerably more expensive. Annoyance at the impact of bigger and bigger cars has also been growing in Dutch cities for some time now.

“Not a Crazy Idea”

Amsterdam traffic alderwoman Melanie van der Horst (D66) said through a spokesperson that she was “looking with interest” at the idea from Paris. There are no concrete plans yet, “but we will explore whether this could also be done in Amsterdam,” she says. “Public space is scarce and it’s not a bad idea to ask for a bigger contribution for cars that take up more space.”

This could be done, for example, by increasing the cost of a parking permit for cars above a certain size. In Amsterdam, at least 10,000 parking spaces must disappear before 2025, so the space for cars will be considerably reduced anyway.

The mood around SUVs has changed for a while now. Last year, climate activists staged a global action in which action group Tire Extinguishers deflated the tires of hundreds of SUVs. Not only do the cars take up more space, but their production also has a greater impact on the environment and climate than that of smaller models. They are also more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists, according to some studies.

The International Energy Agency has previously calculated that the environmental gain from the rise of electric driving is completely negated by the rise of SUVs.

Critical Drivers

Various European motoring interest groups are reacting critically to the growing involvement of municipal authorities in heavy cars: Owners are already paying more motor vehicle taxes, they say. They also point out that SUVs can be an indispensable form of transportation for families. “A private car should remain accessible to everyone,” says ANWB spokesperson Sanne Over.

So far, however, car owners have not been deterred from buying heavier and heavier cars. At an average of 1,460 kilos, newly registered passenger cars weigh almost half a tonne more than forty years ago, according to data from the National Road Traffic Service earlier this year. The average weight has mainly increased since 2010, in parallel with the rise of SUVs.