The average new car sold today occupies one square metre more space than a new vehicle sold in 2006, according to Vehicle Data Global (VDG). Data from VDG shows the average vehicle footprint has increased by 12.3 per cent since 2006, expanding from 7.67 square metres to 8.61 square metres.
VDG also found that the rate at which cars are growing in size has doubled over the last decade compared with the period between 2006 and 2016. While SUVs are often blamed, with their models surging by 543 per cent between 2000 and 2025, even smaller cars like the Volkswagen Polo are almost 20cm wider today than in the 1970s.
This increase in vehicle size is attributed to stricter crash-safety regulations, which require features like crumple zones and additional airbags, and the rising popularity of SUVs. The phenomenon has been dubbed 'carspreading' by campaigners and is officially recognised by Collins English Dictionary as 'the tendency of manufacturers to build cars that are longer, wider, and heavier'.
The growing size of vehicles is creating significant challenges for drivers, with VDG reporting that four fewer vehicles can now be parked on a typical 200-metre residential street than two decades ago. Transport & Environment (T&E) predicted in 2024 that Britain's towns and cities could see a 10 per cent reduction in roadside parking spaces by 2040.