Market desk research
Manoeuvrability is not a gimmick. Vehicles are getting bigger, space is not, and manoeuvring is one of the largest damage items in fleets. At the same time, steering rear wheels are moving from luxury option to standard equipment. In this desk research we bring together public figures, each with its source and the kind of figure it is.
As of October 2026 · public sources · we update this page regularly
At a glance
City and parking
Manoeuvring in tight spaces is stressful for many drivers. And space is shrinking: cars are getting wider, parking spaces are not.
Anxious about parallel parking
Of 1,014 car owners surveyed, 57% feel anxious about parallel parking. 39% avoid it and choose another spot, public transport or walking.
Source: Budget Direct (2024)Heart rate up
When parallel parking, heart rate rises by 57% on average. That is more than reversing (+46%) or driving forwards (+41%) into a bay.
Source: Auto Trader via TradeArabiaWider than the space
New cars in the EU get 1 cm wider every two years: from 170.5 cm (2001) to 180.2 cm (2020). 52% of the best-selling models are wider than a 180 cm on-street parking space.
Source: Transport & Environment (2024) · Clean Cities (2024) · NewMobility (2024)Car parks from the 1970s
In an ADAC test of 44 multi-storey car parks, most only met the 2.30 m bay width from 1970s standards. The recommendation for modern cars is 2.50 m.
Source: ADAC (2016)Searching every day
Parcel drivers in the city centre spend 28% of their driving time looking for a place to stop: about one hour a day (GPS measurements).
Source: Urban Freight Lab (2022)Fleets and damage
Manoeuvring is one of the largest damage items in commercial fleets. The number of claims sometimes falls, but the cost per claim keeps rising.
Manoeuvring damage in lease fleets
Of more than 53,000 claims at Ayvens in Germany, 24% were manoeuvring damage (2025; 23% in 2024), the second-largest cause. The average comprehensive claim rose to €1,969 net.
Source: Ayvens via cash-online.de (2026) · Ayvens (2025)Collisions below 8 km/h
Dashcam data from more than a million drivers: 20% of collisions in commercial fleets happen below 8 km/h. That is 3.8 times more often than at any higher speed.
Source: Lytx (2019)Parking damage in the Netherlands
About a third of the car damage claimed at ANWB Insurance (NL) happens to parked cars, while parking or when manoeuvring. Typical claim: €750 to €1,500.
Source: ANWB VerzekerenParking and manoeuvring
Depending on source and definition, 16 to 44% of all car damage happens while parking and manoeuvring.
Source: YouGov (2012) · Allianz/Continental (2015)Work vehicles and agriculture
For work vehicles the turning circle is not a matter of comfort but a design requirement: for streets, yards and fields.
Turning a refuse truck
In practice a refuse truck needs at least 25 m to turn. Reversing without a banksman is prohibited, and at most 150 m if there is no other option. Every dead-end street becomes a design problem.
Source: APM (2024) · DGUVFaster headland turns
In a field trial with an automated tractor, an additional independently steerable wheel made headland turns 50% faster, with 80% less travel distance and half the space on the headland.
Source: Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (2022)Turning is part of the job
On 3,410 fields in Brandenburg, an optimal working direction removed 14.1% of all turning manoeuvres. Turning is a fixed and large part of work on the land.
Source: Donat e.a., Precision Agriculture (2023)Vans per year
In 2025 about 1.45 million new vans were registered in the EU. The electric share rose to 11.2%.
Source: ACEA (2026)Rear-wheel steering in series
Steering rear wheels are moving from luxury option to standard. And the rules for steer-by-wire are in place.
China is on board
From January to October 2025, 106,000 cars with rear-wheel steering were sold in China (+36.5%). It is already available on cars from RMB 219,900 (about €27,000): no longer only on flagship models.
Source: ResearchInChina via GII (2026)Rear-axle steering by ZF
ZF has built more than 1.9 million rear-axle steering systems since 2013. They make the turning circle up to 2 m smaller.
Source: ZFOn premium cars
BMW has fitted the 7 Series with rear-wheel steering as standard since 2021. The Mercedes EQS steers its rear wheels 4.5° as standard, 10° as an option.
Source: BMW Group (2021) · mbpassion (2021)Per year, as a subscription
Mercedes sold 10° of rear-wheel steering on the EQS as a software subscription at €489 per year. Manoeuvrability as a paid feature.
Source: auto motor und sport (2021)Steer-by-wire in the rules
In June 2025 the UNECE amended its steering regulation (R79) for steer-by-wire, adopted 35 votes to 0.
Source: UNECE WP.29 via GlobalAutoRegs (2025)In series production
According to Hyundai Motor Group (2023), modules such as the e-Corner system, where each wheel steers and drives separately, are not yet in series production anywhere in the world.
Source: Hyundai Motor Group (2023)Demand and attention
Once people see it, they want it. Buyers say they would pay for it, and videos of diagonal driving travel the world.
Willingness to pay
In a choice experiment, consumers were willing to pay $13,500 for four-wheel steering in premium electric cars. Moving diagonally is the most valued function; women and older drivers value it more.
Source: Kim & Cho, Technology in Society 78 (2024)CrabWalk on YouTube
The most popular videos of the Hummer EV CrabWalk have been viewed more than 1.5 million times together, with only ±10° of rear-wheel steering. According to GMC, the vehicle’s most searched feature.
Source: YouTube (GMC HUMMER EV) · YouTube (GMC) · Motor1Mobile robots
The mobile robot market grows by 19% a year: from $5 billion (2024) to $14 billion (2030). Fixed automation grows 2.4%.
Source: Interact Analysis (2026)What does this mean for your vehicle?
We work it out with the dimensions of your platform: turning circle, installation space and what can stay at the front.
About this desk research: all figures come from public sources and were checked individually on the page cited. Each figure states whether it is measured, a survey, a market estimate, manufacturer data or regulation. Surveys and market estimates indicate a direction, not an exact truth.
All sources (30)
- Budget Direct (2024): https://www.budgetdirect.com.au/car-insurance/research/parallel-parking-predicament.html
- Auto Trader via TradeArabia: https://www.tradearabia.com/News/279154/Parallel-parking-spikes-drivers%E2%80%99-heart-rates-survey
- Transport & Environment (2024): https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/ever-wider-why-large-suvs-dont-fit-and-what-to-do-about-it/
- Clean Cities (2024): https://cleancitiescampaign.org/cars-are-getting-1-cm-wider-every-two-years-research/
- NewMobility (2024): https://newmobility.news/2024/01/23/te-cars-are-getting-1-cm-wider-every-two-years/
- ADAC (2016): https://presse.adac.de/meldungen/adac-ev/tests/parkhaus-test-wenig-platz-fuer-moderne-autos.html
- Urban Freight Lab (2022): https://urbanfreightlab.com/research_keywords/parking-seeking
- Ayvens via cash-online.de (2026): https://www.cash-online.de/a/flottenversicherung-sinkende-schadenzahlen-aber-hoehere-aufwaende-724588/
- Ayvens (2025): https://www.ayvens.com/de-de/ueber-uns/presse/presseinformationen/presseinfos-2025/versicherungsbilanz/
- Lytx (2019): https://www.lytx.com/news-events/press-release/2019/lytx-data-shows-more-collisions-occur-at-speeds-below-5-miles-per-hour-more-than-at-any-other-speed
- ANWB Verzekeren: https://www.anwb.nl/verzekeringen/autoverzekering/schade-aan-de-auto-wat-kost-dat
- YouGov (2012): https://internationalfleetworld.com/16-of-car-damage-in-europe-incurred-whilst-parking/
- Allianz/Continental (2015): https://www.autobiz.ie/bodyshop/most-damage-to-cars-occur-during-parking
- APM (2024): https://www.apm-niemegk.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Informationsblatt-Freie-Fahrt-fuer-Muellfahrzeuge-01_2024-2.pdf
- DGUV: https://dguv.de/fb-verkehr/sachgebiete/abfallwirtschaft/faq/index.jsp
- Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (2022): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2022.107278
- Donat e.a., Precision Agriculture (2023): https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-023-10033-9
- ACEA (2026): https://www.acea.auto/cv-registrations/new-commercial-vehicle-registrations-vans-8-8-trucks-6-2-buses-7-5-in-2025/
- ResearchInChina via GII (2026): https://www.giiresearch.com/report/rinc1907920-passenger-car-intelligent-steering-industry.html
- ZF: https://www.zf.com/products/en/cars/increasing_comfort_safety/adaptive_damping_rear_axle_steering.html
- BMW Group (2021): https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/france/article/detail/T0325138FR/nouveaut%C3%A9s-produits-bmw-printemps-2021
- mbpassion (2021): https://mbpassion.de/2021/04/das-ist-der-eqs-alle-infos-und-bilder-des-serienmodells/
- auto motor und sport (2021): https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/elektroauto/mercedes-eqs-hinterachslenkung-upgrade-abo-gebuehr/
- UNECE WP.29 via GlobalAutoRegs (2025): https://globalautoregs.com/agendas/13150
- Hyundai Motor Group (2023): https://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com/ko/story/CONT0000000000100051
- Kim & Cho, Technology in Society 78 (2024): https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v78y2024ics0160791x24001805.html
- YouTube (GMC HUMMER EV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjhzP-KJ0Qc
- YouTube (GMC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD91dUdrNyI
- Motor1: https://www.motor1.com/news/450165/gmc-hummer-ev-crabwalk-mode/
- Interact Analysis (2026): https://www.automatedwarehouseonline.com/mobile-robot-market-grows-faster-than-fixed-automation-finds-interact-analysis/