British drivers face £18million parking charge nightmare with 'millions liable for fines'
Drivers in London could face charges of around £9million
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British drivers could be hit with a staggering £18million in parking fines because they can’t fit inside marked bays, new data has found.
With a growing number of large vehicles, there are fears that most cars could soon be too large to squeeze inside standard UK parking bays.
The 10 largest local authorities in the UK have handed out over 137,000 fines to drivers for parking outside of the white lines.
Based on the value of these fines, British motorists could have potentially seen charges up to £18million since 2019.
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The research, from Citroen, found that Edinburgh Council handed out the most penalty charge notices (PCNs) to drivers since 2019 with 19,800.
Glasgow Council placed in second with 17,800 PCNs in the four-year timespan, while the London Council of Havering slapped 15,700 drivers with fines.
In contrast, Tower Hamlets Council in London only handed out 52 charges between 2019 and 2023.
Drivers who receive a penalty charge notice would be required to pay up to £130, although this is normally halved if paid within two weeks.
With 137,000 fines issued, the charges could have cost drivers up to £17.9million, while more than £9million could be coming from motorists in London alone.
In a previous investigation by Which?, it was found that 161 cars on the market are too long for a space, with a handful of vehicles being almost a foot longer.
Greg Taylor, Managing Director of Citroen UK, said: “Our research shows that people are struggling to park their cars in urban environments, which could make millions of motorists across the country liable for fines.
“Ami 100 per cent Electric is the perfect solution to driving in urban areas, and represents a genuinely new and revolutionary way of getting around cities.
“It represents the very best of Citroen, offering innovative and fun solutions to very real problems.”
The Ami is just 2.41 metres long and 1.39 metres wide, meaning the vehicle fits into just half of a regulation-sized parallel parking space.
Citroen claimed that councils could double the number of parking spaces they have available in urban areas if everyone drove an Ami.
The vehicle, which is technically a quadricycle or microcar, is one of the smallest models on the market, with the French brand marketing it as an urban mobility solution.
Citroen’s Ami emits zero emissions and has a 5.4kWh battery which recharges in four hours, has a range of 46 miles and a top speed of 28mph.
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The Citroen Ami has a range of 46 miles
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Drivers can get their hands on an Ami for as little as £89 per month or £7,695, while the Ami Tonic costs £8,695.