The Tyre Extinguishers, an eco-activist vigilante group that targeted large vehicles, says it has deflated its final tyre after almost five years of campaigns.
The group alarmed drivers in affluent suburbs by operating at night and letting the air out of tyres on what it described as “gas-guzzling” 4x4s, including Range Rovers, Mazdas and Volkswagens.
It campaigned for SUVs to be banned from cities, saying its wider aim was to make owning a 4×4 “impossible” in urban areas.
The Tyre Extinguishers claimed responsibility for deflating more than 5,000 tyres in 22 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
In Britain, the activists concentrated on affluent parts of Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and London, using small objects to release air gradually from vehicle tyres.
Working under cover of darkness, they sometimes targeted an entire street in one night, focusing on expensive vehicles and making no exception for electric SUVs.
Leaflets were frequently left beneath windscreen wipers, explaining to drivers why their vehicles had been selected.
The group has now announced that it is disbanding and plans to shut down its website.
The vigilantes also targeted electric and hybrid SUVs, arguing that the vehicles still contribute to pollution and congestion
In a social media statement, a spokesperson for the Tyre Extinguishers said the group was “bowing out” after four and a half years of generating “rage”.
The statement said: “However, the fight against supersized cars taking over our cities continues. We are happy to have inspired hundreds of people across the globe to disarm thousands of SUVs in 22 countries. We urge you to continue!
“We are so happy to have worked with so many brave people – pretty much all of whom we have never met and never will!
“The people behind The Tyre Extinguishers continue their work, in other struggles. In the face of spineless governments, sabotage is a legitimate tool to advance climate action.
“We fully expect to see people continue to **** with these death machines in cities – and we salute them!
“Our socials will remain online, but the website will now disappear. La lutte continue!”
The French phrase “La lutte” translates as “the struggle”.
The group’s campaign took off in earnest in March 2022, when it circulated a guide explaining “how to deflate an SUV tyre”.
The guidance urged supporters to “target posh areas” and practise first on bicycle tyres before carrying out the acts of vandalism.
It also stated that electric and hybrid SUVs should be considered “fair game”.
A spokesman for the Alliance of British Drivers previously condemned the campaign, saying those responsible should face the “full consequence of the law”.
They previously said: ‘It’s difficult to comprehend how people could do this. It’s honestly quite monstrous.
‘What do they think they’re gaining? It’s ridiculous. They want to take it out on owners and create all sorts of problems for people.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: Parents of Baby Born With Heart Defect Seek to End Legal Dispute With Surrogate
‘What they’re doing is illegal, and the punishment should fit the crime. Quite honestly the crime is pretty nasty.
‘We must deal with them properly and put an end to it once and for all’.
The Tyre Extinguishers claim to have deflated the tyres of more than 2,000 SUVs
Eco-activists The Tyre Extinguishers claim SUVs were being ‘disarmed’ because they are ‘death machines’
In 2022, the group created a bizarre ‘European cup competition’ – with protesters setting up a ‘leader board’ of attacks, with activists in Paris claiming they were challenging Bristol and Brighton for the title of ‘most extinguished city’.
After boasting of ‘disarming’ more than 120 vehicles in just one night, activists in France issued a rallying cry.
In 2024, residents of the leafy Sands End area of Fulham, west London, fell victim to the eco-vandals.
They attacked seven Range Rovers, one Bentley and one Porsche in the midnight spree on expensive vehicles.
However in an embarrassing blunder, the bungling zealots targeted the owner of a renewable gas company, who blasted the group for going after ‘the wrong people’.
He told the Mail: ‘I’m fuming to be honest. It’s very frustrating.
‘A stunt like this is just so short-sighted and with no context. They’re not targeting other cars even though they may have higher carbon emissions.’
The man, who requested to remain anonymous, said he discovered the puncture as he was heading out to get his electric bike fixed.
He added: ‘I rarely even use my car. About once or twice a month when I venture out of London or go abroad so I can take my dogs.
‘Instead I walk or use my electric bike. But they clearly don’t care about that’.
Asked what he would say to the mob that damaged his car, he explained: ‘I’d honestly rather have a conversation with them and open a dialogue. Rather than just letting my tyres down and making some irrelevant statement’.
In 2023, the group targeted a Jaguar dealership, using the tragic death of two young girls in a crash at a school as justification.
At the Exeter business, they stepped up their usual approach, using a drill to inflict tangible damage on the tyres, rather than merely deflating them.
Globally, the number of SUVs has increased from less than 50 million in 2010 to more than 320 million – equivalent to the total car fleet of Europe.
Because of their size, on average, SUVs consume around a quarter more energy than medium-sized cars.
A 2019 study by the International Energy Agency found that they rank among the top contributors to energy-related carbon dioxide emissions growth over the past decade – cancelling out the reductions from people switching to electric cars.
They are also said to be more dangerous when involved in an accident because of their bulky size.
