Taxing Britain’s SUVs in line with other European countries could raise almost £2bn a year for the public finances, research has shown.

The Transport & Environment thinktank has urged the government to use the autumn budget to bring in a levy on the largest vehicles, which it said would reflect the damage they caused to the environment and infrastructure.

T&E said the current UK vehicle tax system was not keeping up with the change in the profile of cars sold, with heavier and more polluting cars escaping adequate taxation and coming to dominate the market.

An “SUV loophole” meant UK buyers paid up to 20 times less tax on the biggest models than counterparts in other European countries, it said. Vehicle tax on a new £85,000 BMW X5 would amount to £3,200 in the UK, but the sale would incur taxes of £66,600 in France – driving UK SUV sales to four times the level in France.