Australia may increase standard car parking spaces as huge vehicles dominate the streets

Critics say boom in sales of SUVs and dual-cab utes has been disastrous for safety and the environment - and car parks may be at risk of collapse

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Parking spaces in Australia may soon become bigger as a response to the nation's love affair with SUVs and large cars, but planners fear parking lots are at risk of collapse under the weight of increasingly enormous vehicles.

For the past few decades, the standard size for car spaces on streets and in parking lots has been 5.4 metres long and 2.4 to 2.6 metres wide - big enough to allow a Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore to park comfortably.