Autobesity

The SEAT 600, at about 600 kg and three meters in length, was the best-selling car in Spain in the 1950s and 1960s.

The SUV Hyundai Tucson was the best-selling vehicle in Spain in 2022. It can weigh over 1800 kg and measure over 4 and a half meters in length.

The size and weight of automobiles have increased over the past few decades.

Trucks' share of US vehicles produced, has tripled since 1975. Though vehicle fuel efficiency has increased within each category, the overall trend toward less efficient types of vehicles has offset some of the benefits of greater fuel economy and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. ^[1] Without the shift towards SUVs, energy use per unit distance could have fallen 30% more than it did from 2010 to 2022. ^[2]

In the U.S., pickup trucks have grown in size and function, from workhorses to family vehicles with many technological features. ^[3] By the 2010s, small pickups had nearly vanished and in the 2020s full-size trucks made up a majority of U.S. sales. ^[3] Safety advocates are concerned with larger trucks' mass and driver blind spots. ^[3]

Autobesity, also known as car bloat and truck bloat, is the trend, beginning in about the 1990s, ^[4] of cars increasing in average size and weight. ^{[5] [6]} The average weight of cars sold in Europe increased by 21% between 2001 and 2022. ^[7] In the United States, SUVs and pickup trucks comprised more than 75% of new sales in 2024 compared to 38% in 2009. ^[8]

Negative consequences

Among the consequences of increased car weight and size are:

• Poorer air quality, even with electric vehicles, because heavier vehicles have higher energy consumption and release more tyre and brake particles (non-tailpipe emissions). ^{[4] [9]}
• Reduced road safety, as heavier vehicles have greater kinetic energy, and taller vehicles are more likely to strike pedestrians in the head and torso, or even not be able to see small children who are below the driver's line of sight. ^{[10] [11]} Additionally, larger vehicles are more likely to hit pedestrians when turning due to poorer visibility. ^{[12] [13]} Vehicles with higher front ends and blunt profiles are 45% more likely to cause fatalities in crashes with pedestrians than smaller cars and trucks. ^[8] In the United States, pedestrian fatalities increased by 57% between 2013 and 2022. ^[14]
• Parking issues for other vehicles, as they don't fit in typical parking spaces, often occupying multiple spaces. ^[15]
• Increased consumption of public space, promoting more sprawling cities and further exacerbating energy and automobile dependency. ^[16]

Explanations

An individual driver may choose a large car for personal safety, though it threatens other road users. This in turn pushes others to choose large cars, a vicious circle. A US National Safety Council expert described autobesity as an "arms race". ^[17]

Even though this is a decisive factor that some buyers do take into account, even the ones that don't actively search for larger vehicles are affected due to the increase in the number of safety features: from airbags to crumple zones. These require much more space in the vehicle, even adding areas of apparently empty space just so that the bodywork has a larger crumple zone in case of a collision. ^[18]

Government actions to counter autobesity

• France, Norway, the Netherlands and Washington, D.C. (among others) tax vehicles by weight. ^{[19] [20]}
• A 2023 European Parliament report proposes introducing a new "category B+" driving licence for cars heavier than 1,800 kg (4,000 lb). ^[21]
• From 2024 Paris will charge higher parking fees for SUVs. ^[22]
• In September 2024, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a rule mandating manufacturers to test their vehicles using pedestrian crash test dummies, with an estimate of saving 67 pedestrian lives per year. ^[14]

References

1. "Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report". EPA.gov. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). December 12, 2022. Archived from the original on September 2, 2023.
2. Cazzola, Pierpaolo; Paoli, Leonardo; Teter, Jacob (November 2023). "Trends in the Global Vehicle Fleet 2023 / Managing the SUV Shift and the EV Transition" (PDF). Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI). p. 3. doi:10.7922/G2HM56SV. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 26, 2023.
3. Chase, Will; Whalen, Jared; Miller, Joann (January 23, 2023). "Pickup Trucks: From Workhorse to Joyride". Axios. Archived from the original on January 28, 2025.
4. Fuller, Gary (September 8, 2023). "Autobesity on course to worsen air pollution caused by motoring". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024.
5. "Researchers warn 'autobesity' trend is on track to endanger health worldwide: 'This rise in fatalities coincides'". October 22, 2023. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
6. Hatch, Patrick (August 5, 2023). "Bigger, dirtier, more dangerous: How 'auto-besity' is a health risk for everyone". The Sydney Morning Herald . Australia. Archived from the original on August 9, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
7. Anthony, Andrew (November 5, 2023). "Monsters of the road: What should the UK do about SUVs?". The Guardian.
8. "As cars and trucks get bigger and taller, lawmakers look to protect pedestrians". NPR.
9. Zipper, David (July 19, 2023). "EVs Are Sending Toxic Tire Particles Into the Water, Soil, and Air". The Atlantic. US. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
10. These Stupid Trucks are Literally Killing Us. Netherlands. March 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023– via www.youtube.com.
11. "Des voitures plus lourdes, plus hautes et plus puissantes pour une sécurité routière à deux vitesses ?" [Heavier, taller and more powerful cars for two-speed road safety?]. Belgium: Vias Institute. August 30, 2023. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
12. "Editorial: Hulking SUVs and trucks are deadly. We need to encourage safer models". Los Angeles Times. US. April 4, 2023. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
13. "SUVs, other large vehicles often hit pedestrians while turning". US: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. March 17, 2022. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
14. Hawkins, Andrew J. (September 10, 2024). "The US finally takes aim at truck bloat". The Verge. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
15. Norris, Sian (August 26, 2023). "More than 150 car models too big for regular UK parking spaces". Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
16. Medina, Miguel Ángel (September 25, 2023). "¿Deben pagar más los coches grandes por aparcar en la calle? En París y Lyon empezarán a hacerlo". El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
17. Zipper, David (November 7, 2022). "The Car Safety Feature That Kills the Other Guy". Slate. US. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
18. "How Vehicle Safety Has Improved Over the Decades | NHTSA". www.nhtsa.gov. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
19. Alter, Lloyd (September 8, 2023). "Car bloat is getting ridiculous and must be stopped". Carbon Upfront!. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
20. Vaughan, Adam Vaughan (November 6, 2023). "Tax SUVs by weight like France and Norway, say green campaigners". The Times . Retrieved September 27, 2024.
21. "Draft report on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences, amending Directive (EU) 2022/2561 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EU) No 383/2012" (PDF). European Parliament. July 19, 2023. 2023/0053(COD). Archived (PDF) from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
22. Willsher, Kim (July 11, 2023). "Paris to charge SUV drivers higher parking fees to tackle 'auto-besity'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2023.

External links

• What is Autobesity? About Words - Cambridge Dictionary blog - New words – 21 August 2023