Rome Cracks Down on Suvs

The councillor responsible for traffic, Mario Di Carlo, said he intended making owners of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) pay €1,000 (about £690) each year - more than triple the normal rate for a permit to enter the historic centre.

His announcement was the latest move in a growing Europe-wide backlash against four-wheel drives.

Governments in Sweden and France are considering punitive taxes on SUV purchases. The Paris city council is hoping to ban them from the centre and protected areas. And, in May, the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, called 4x4s "bad for London", and their owners "complete idiots".

Four-wheel drives can be a nightmare in the narrow, winding streets of old Rome, where pollution is damaging historic buildings. Yet the city now has almost 10,000 registered SUVs.

Measures to curb them are also being drawn up by the authorities in Florence. Three Italian ministries are considering a plea from a centre-left MP for discriminatory tax measures in the 2005 budget.

As in other parts of Europe, demand for SUVs is soaring. The latest figures show that 5.5% of new Italian plates are put on 4x4s, compared with less than half that figure six years ago.

According to an Italian environmental group, Legambiente, the 10 top-selling SUVs generate on average 70% more pollution in towns than the 10 most popular saloon cars.

But Wanni Zarpellon, of one group supporting SUV owners, the Italian Off-road Federation, said: "If we really want to find a culprit for the pollution of city centres, let's take a look at the scooters - many of which are two-stroke with emissions that are so far unchecked."

Fabrizio Pallocci, a representative of the federation's branch in Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, called the proposed measures "an injustice that above all limits personal freedom. People should be entirely free to buy the car they want."

The centre of Rome is already limited to traffic. Car owners who want to bring their vehicles in have to find €316 for an annual permit or risk a fine. Mr Di Carlo said he planned to triple this for four-wheel drives. But he acknowledged that the council could face a civil liberties challenge in court.

The measure is expected to figure in a comprehensive anti-pollution plan to be unveiled by the council at the end of October. Similar plans are being drawn up in several other parts of Italy.

In France, critics of the crackdown on SUVs say the curbs are driven by the growing success of a type of vehicle not made in France. This is no longer the case in Italy. Fiat now manufacturers a Panda 4x4.