Experts are calling for owners of large vehicles to pay higher registration fees to account for the damage they do to the environment and roads. 

SUVs and light commercial vehicles comprise nearly four in every five new vehicles sold in Australia and account for the vast majority of emissions, road wear and take up more space.

As recently as 2014, small cars and family sedans dominated the ten most popular cars bought by Australian consumers. Ten years later, large cars comprised nine of the top ten most purchased vehicles in 2024.

Milad Haghani, an associate professor in urban resilience at the University of Melbourne, says it’s time for Australia to consider vehicle registration fees based on weight – meaning SUV and ute owners would pay more.

‘Bigger cars mean bigger costs for everyone else –  it’s only fair those costs are reflected in how we price their use of public roads,’ he wrote in The Conversation. 

‘Larger vehicles – no matter how they are powered – generally impose bigger costs on society than smaller cars. 

‘Large SUVs and utes (if powered by fossil fuels) have a far greater climate impact. On average, a small car emits 2,040 kilograms less carbon dioxide (CO₂) a year than a pickup truck. 

‘Bigger vehicles also need more space. Standards Australia has proposed making car-parking spaces larger to accommodate the trend to larger cars. Cities such as Paris have introduced higher parking fees for SUVs on these grounds.’

University of Melbourne associate professor Milad Haghani (pictured) has revived calls to push big car owners to pay more for the environmental and infrastructure damage they cause

University of Melbourne associate professor Milad Haghani (pictured) has revived calls to push big car owners to pay more for the environmental and infrastructure damage they cause

A luxury car tax loophole means that imported commercial vehicles like the VW Amarok (pictured) may not subjected to a 33 per cent charge on the value of a vehicle over $80,000

A luxury car tax loophole means that imported commercial vehicles like the VW Amarok (pictured) may not subjected to a 33 per cent charge on the value of a vehicle over $80,000

He also said larger vehicles slow overall traffic flow.     

Mr Haghani believes state-based registration fees have failed to keep up with the trend towards bigger and heavier vehicles. 

Vehicle registration is an annual fee paid by road users to allow the government to recoup administrative costs and wear on public infrastructure. 

It is calculated in different ways between states and territories. In Victoria, for example, it is calculated primarily based on whether the vehicle was registered in a rural or metropolitan area while, in the ACT, it is derived from the vehicle’s emissions. 

‘I absolutely cannot fathom why registration fee calculations should be so vastly different across states,’ Dr Haghani told Daily Mail Australia. 

‘It’s as though we collectively know what the contributing factors are; the reasons we pay rego in the first place, the costs it’s meant to offset; but each state has cherry-picked just one of those elements to focus on. Emissions alone don’t tell the whole story. Neither does your postcode.’

Dr Haghani said a fair vehicle registration model would account not only for the size and weight of the vehicle, but how often it is driven in order to offset road surface damage, emissions and congestion impacts. 

Adjunct professor in Engineering at the University of Technology, Sydney Robin Smit agreed but added a fair change would go beyond a review of the registration system. 

Dr Haghani said a fairer registration model would take into account not just the size and weight of a vehicle but how often and how far it is driven

Dr Haghani said a fairer registration model would take into account not just the size and weight of a vehicle but how often and how far it is driven 

‘There are several aspects to consider (e.g. safety, parking space, road damage), but from an emissions perspective it is important to look at the impacts over the whole vehicle lifecycle to ensure a fair comparison is made,’ he said. 

Larger vehicles tend to emit more carbon than smaller vehicles, they require more fuel and do more damage to roads. 

A one-tonne vehicle has been estimated to do approximately 16 times the damage to roads than a vehicle half its weight while pickup trucks emit roughly 2,040kg of carbon dioxide more per year than small cars. 

Research suggests Australians are buying bigger cars for multiple reasons including tax incentives, a perception of greater safety and lifestyle. 

Dr Haghani revived calls to put an end to a luxury car tax loophole that critics claim incentivises roadusers to buy big. 

Research published last year by the Australia Institute found the Luxury Car Tax, introduced in 2000 to protect the domestic car industry, has the effect of subsiding luxury utes. 

In 2023 alone, the tax break cost Australians over $250 million in foregone revenue according to the think tank. 

The tax puts a 33 per cent tax on the value of any imported car over a certain threshold – this financial year it applies to vehicles valued at more than $80,576. 

However, the tax does not apply to commercial vehicles, making it cheaper to buy an imported ute than a similarly priced sedan or small vehicle. 

‘With this current system, why wouldn’t consumer go for a bigger, heavier option?’ Dr Haghani said. 

‘They have already been subject to the commercials that have depicted them as “cool” and “family friendly” and all that, so of course there is every incentive (financial and psychological) to go big (and also match the size of the big cars around you and not feel vulnerable).’

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk