Limit new car dimensions by 2035: proposal from civil society to the EU
Limit new car dimensions by 2035: proposal from civil society to the EU
More than 30 civil society organisations have called on the European Commission to initiate work on a legislative proposal to set limits on the dimensions of new passenger cars by 2035 (particularly…
30 associations are proposing to the European Commission to impose a limit on the size of new cars, in particular the total width and bonnet.
A report connected with this request showed that the average bonnet height of newly-sold cars in Europe is increasing by 0.5 cm a year.
Many studies showed that bigger cars and higher bonnets are related to more collisions, and worse outcome for pedestrians and cyclists (and those in smaller cars), especially in regards to children
Those SUVs are kid crushers, they shouldn’ be on our roads
crossposed from: https://mastodon.uno/users/rivoluzioneurbanamobilita/statuses/114674420551539891
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PLEASE put a stop to insane car sizes. I'm from the US and our cars, SUVs, and trucks have gotten so huge it would be humorous if not for the thousands of extra children it's killing each year.
In the words of the Australian health minister: is it how the US is doing it? Don't do that.
Addendum: There's a new car coming out in the US. It's a 6 seater that's 5.8 meters long and is around 8000 lbs. Two of them are the same size as a normal city bus. TWO cars == a fucking BUS.
DO NOT DO WHAT THE US IS DOING.
Those kind of cars are not really popular in Europe as the streets here are narrow and don't follow grid patterns. A lot of countries also already have regulations that limit what cars are road legal. That's why you will not see a Cybertruck on the road in Europe, they have too many sharp edges and no crumple zones which makes them not road legal.
What??
(This sounds like something someone who has never been to Europe would say.)Europe is being absolutely flooded with SUVs and even pickups (supply/marketing pressure + ego imho, bcs such cars are more profitable for manufacturers even when they are lower quality). And yes, we have a couple of Cybertrucks too.
Also most the poshest SUVs sold in USA are European models.
The dumpsters from at least two EU countries:
Additionally, here are new car registrations in 2024 - most of the cars (50.7%, 7 million cars) were some sort of SUVs (so the front part of the car is higher than it needs to be):
Euro SUVs can not be compared to American SUVs.
You go buy a hunking monster of a German SUV, a BMW X7 or a Mercedes GLS right now, they're actually shorter than the LWB versions of the 7 series or S-Klasse, at around 5.1-5.2 meters for the SUVs and 5.3 for the flagship luxury sedans (Maybach versions and such are longer ofc)
The SHORT version of the GM full-size SUV (Escalade/Yukon/Tahoe) is about that size. The full size version (Escalade ESV/Yukon XL/Suburban) is almost half a meter longer than that, at over 5.7 meters. Full-size pickup trucks get over 6 meters in length and those are completely normal commuter vehicles too. The Cybertruck isn't even a very big truck in the US.
Japanese, Korean and American manufacturers all have models that they consider normal for North America, but won't sell in Europe - though for the Koreans, those aren't even THAT big - the Telluride is only a bit bigger than an X5.
That's not to say that I disagree on the fact that we need to limit car size growth. But you can NOT compare Europe to the US. You drive around in more rural areas in the US on a single holiday trip and suddenly things like the Jeep Grand Cherokee start looking like small cars. The super popular "C-SUV" in your graph is a smaller vehicle than an Audi A4. A normal family car that can fit 2 proper child seats in the back and a stroller in the trunk in your graph is anything between C and D segment car or SUV. The average taxi, the Mercedes E-Class, is E segment.
Really the most stupid part to me is when people buy these C-SUVs. They don't generally fit more people or luggage than C-Cars, and because of the extra weight and height, handling and ride quality is more compromised. They also cost more than equivalently sized cars. Just get a C-Car or D-Car in the form of a wagon. E-Car if you really need space. Most of my cars have been executive sized wagons (5 series Touring, E-Class T-Modell, A6 Avant are all cars I've owned) and they'll beat a similarly priced compact SUV in pretty much any metric I can think of. I currently have about 200 kilowatts of power after a remap, do over 1000 km on a tank of diesel in mixed driving scenarios (1500+ on all highway), can sit in comfort all day long or race you on a curvy road, and carry half my furniture when I fold down the rear seats.
Completely agree - I was on about the (growing) front height of the vehicles and that the trend is clear.
I live in Denmark and the Cybertruck is not road legal here. I though that was the case for most of Europe?
The cybertrucks on European roads have an individual permit, which has less requirements than a general permit for all cybertrucks.
AfaIk, they needed to attach something at the edges of the cybertruck to have at least 3 mm radius.
Perfect.
Lmao, like those rubber balls you can put on furniture to stop kids braining themselves?
Here is one driving through Copenhagen:
It's not really practically true, I'm pointing it out for the fun of it, but it still happened:
autoevolution.com/news/why-is-the-tesla-cybertruck-driving-in-europe-if-it-is-not-allowed-toBut wait, if those other trucks cybers are registered in other EU countries, can't they just drive through Denmark?
They have the 3mm rubber padding on the edges, lmao.But wait, if those other trucks cybers are registered in other EU countries, can't they just drive through Denmark?
They can until they meet the first police officer who would stop them. You still have to abide by local laws when traveling through the EU. Just because Germany doesn't have speed limits on the Autobahn doesn't mean you can just ignore the speed limit on the Highway in Denmark.
Yeah, I know that, eg different laws about tires too apply, I'm just not sure about road-worthiness since it's usually tied to car registration (a bit) and that is an EU thing.
Dunno.
Clustertruck may not be legal but the oversized American pickups and SUVs are
Still the car sizes in Europe are smaller on average. But yes, as they get bigger all the time, its time to reverse that and make tighter regulation
Your graphics show how it is different. The big groups B-SUV and C-SUV are much smaller than a Cybertruck or F-150 (the most sold car in the US). I am not 100% sure, but I think they would probably either be in D-SUV or even uncategorised in this statistics Here a comparison: https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/nissan-qashqai-2024-suv-vs-ford-f150-2017-4-door-pickup-supercrew-5.5-raptor/
Can confirm, we don't have a category for whatever this is either:
But neither did the USAnians, marketing just forced it over the decades, culturally linking it to being alpha-macho or whatever.
Tho its notable that pickups and larger SUVs sold in Europe (Amarok, Hilux, GLS) are all over 5m (over 5.2?) making them about the size of the average USA SUV (not average pickups tho, that is still 0.5m short of the latest F-150 series).
Absolutely! Yes, and the Amaroks etc. are seen on the street much less than pick-up trucks in the USA. But I also think, we have to make sure it doesn't happen here
Would be nice if true!
Of course you are technically correct. There are more giantic cars in the US than in Europe.
Nonetheless the avarage European car gets bigger every year – that's the point of the original post – and they are already too big for our cities.
And yet Dodge Rams are endemic in Netherlands cities where they have to take up two parking spaces and can't fit down some roads
That's why you will not see a Cybertruck on the road in Europe.
That was the initial reason, now there's also the Nazi reason and the crappy car reason.
Both very good points and grounded in reality, though my attitude is more about the general public being stupid more than the general public recognizing the limits of the roads or even the law.
https://etsc.eu/sales-of-dangerous-us-pickup-trucks-up-20-in-europe/
The uptick in people leveraging the individual registrations is a canary in the coal mine. People want to have giant wasteful crap. At least some people do. If enough people start having big trucks and SUVs on the road, the demand to make allowances for them grows. Can you knock down the old Regensburg medieval city for SUVs? Unlikely. Can you start making more suburban style roads and land wasteful areas outside of the downtown? Most assuredly.
I'm hoping smarter and more reasonable heads prevail in the EU. I don't care what people want on this front. The car makers want to sell huge killing machines since they're higher profit per unit. There's at least some people wanting to buy them. The protection of pedestrians, the environment, and the city itself from terrible infrastructure designed to accommodate these trash machines should win out if at all possible.
