The A-segment is the 1st category in the passenger car classification system defined by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represent approx. 7-8% of the market in 2010s. It is approximately equivalent to the

kei car Kei car (or , kanji: , "light automobile", ), known variously outside Japan as Japanese city car or Japanese microcar, is the Japanese vehicle category for the smallest highway-legal passenger cars with restricted dimensions and engine capacit ...

class in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Definition

As of 2021 A-segment category size span from approximately to (photo comparison of new city cars of all brands sorted by length):

Characteristics

Body styles for A-segment cars in Europe are always

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

s. But as

crossovers Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

gain popularity, new models may shift to resemble crossovers. Such examples are the

Suzuki Ignis The is an automobile nameplate that was first produced by Suzuki in 2000 as a subcompact car, replacing the Suzuki Cultus, and subsequently as a crossover-styled city car from 2016. The Cultus retailed under various names globally, notably as th ...

and the

Toyota Aygo X The Toyota Aygo X is a crossover city car produced by Toyota since 2022. Using the Aygo nameplate, it is primarily marketed for the European market. It is built at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Czech Republic (TMMCZ, formerly known as TPCA) p ...

. Other body styles such as

sedans A sedan or saloon (British English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of the word "sedan" in reference to an automobile body occurred in 19 ...

are not present in this segment because these shapes largely prove impractical at typical A-segment dimensions.

History

As of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, A-segment sales account for 8.1%, 8%, 7.7% and 6.8% market share in Europe respectively.

Current models

In 2020 the ten highest selling A-segment cars in Europe were

Fiat Panda The Fiat Panda is a city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda (Mk 1: 1980–1986 & Mk2: 1986–2003), introduced in 1980, was a two-box, three-door hatchback designed b ...

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 ( it, Cinquecento, ) is a rear-engined, four-seat, small city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975 over a single generation in two-door saloon and two-door station wagon bodystyles. Launc ...

Toyota Aygo The Toyota Aygo is a city car ( A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2021 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the 2005 Geneva International Motor Show. It was built alongside the relat ...

Renault Twingo The Renault Twingo is a four-seater passenger city car manufactured and marketed by the French auto-maker Renault, introduced in 1992 and currently in its third generation. The first generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at the Pa ...

Volkswagen Up! The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car, part of the Volkswagen Group New Small Family (NSF) series of models, unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up started in December 2011 at th ...

Hyundai i10 The Hyundai i10 is a city car produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 2007. It replaced the Hyundai Atos in the model line-up, and was initially available only as a five-door hatchback body style. The third generation i10 was unve ...

Kia Picanto The Kia Picanto is a city car that has been produced by the South Korean car manufacturer, Kia, since 2003. Other names of the car include Kia Morning ( ko, 기아 모닝, translit=Gia Moning) in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan (first two generat ...

Peugeot 108 The Peugeot 108 is a city car launched by French manufacturer Peugeot in March 2014 at the Geneva Motor Show. The 108 is related to the Citroën C1 and Toyota Aygo, and shares their floorpan, engines, transmission and electrics. Sales commenced in ...

Citroën C1 The Citroën C1 is a city car marketed by Citroën from June 2005 to January 2022, originally developed as part of the B-Zero project by PSA Peugeot Citroën in a joint venture with Toyota, with two generations produced. The C1 was developed a ...

and

. 100,000 - 200,000 sales (Best-Selling) File:Fiat Panda in Mechelen NL.jpg ,

3rd generation (2011–present)
Made in Italy File:2010 Fiat 500 Lounge 1.2 Front.jpg, Fiat 500 (2007)
1st generation (2007–present)
Made in Poland 50,000 - 100,000 sales File:Toyota Aygo (cropped).jpg,

2nd generation (2014–present)
Made in Czech Republic File:Renault Twingo FL Monrepos 2019 IMG 1948.jpg,

3rd generation (2014–present)
Made in Slovenia File:VW high up! 1.0 BlueMotion Technology (Facelift) – Frontansicht, 21. April 2017, Düsseldorf.jpg,

1st generation (2011–present)
Made in Slovakia File:Hyundai i10 1.0 Intro (III) – f 03012021.jpg,

3rd generation (2019-present)
Made in Turkey 10,000 - 50,000 sales File:2018 Kia Picanto 3 Automatic 1.2 Front.jpg,

3rd generation (2017–present)
Made in Russia File:2018 Peugeot 108 Collection 1.0 Front (1).jpg,

2nd generation (2014–2021)
Made in Czech Republic File:2017 Citroen C1 Flair Puretech 1.2 Front.jpg,

2nd generation (2014–2021)
Made in Czech Republic File:Suzuki Ignis (third generation) Facelift IMG 4450.jpg,

2nd generation (2016–present)
Made in India File:Mitsubishi Space Star (2019) Auto Zuerich 2021 IMG 0244.jpg,

Mitsubishi Mirage The Mitsubishi Mirage is a range of cars produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi from 1978 until 2003 and again since 2012. The hatchback models produced between 1978 and 2003 were classified as subcompact cars, while the sedan and s ...

6th generation (2012-present)
Made in Thailand File:Smart EQ fortwo IMG 3100.jpg, smart EQ fortwo
3rd generation (2016-present)
Made in France File:2018 Skoda Citigo SE MPi 1.0 Front.jpg,

Škoda Citigo The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car, part of the Volkswagen Group New Small Family (NSF) series of models, unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up started in December 2011 at th ...

1st generation (2011–2020)
Made in Slovakia

Sales figures in Europe

Market share in Europe

2019 - In 2019, sales of minicars were down 2% compared to a total market gain of 1% which means this segment now makes up 7.7% of the total European car market at 1.21 million sales, down from 8% in 2018. And with margins on minicars under pressure due to increased costs to comply with stricter safety and emissions standards, manufacturers are scaling back investments in to minicars or switching to an EV-only strategy. In Italy, A-segment cars represented 16.4% of car sales in the first half of 2019. 2020 - European sales of minicars were down by a third in 2020, which translates to nearly 400,000 fewer sales and means the segment loses market share as the overall market is down 24%. As a result, this segment now makes up 6.8% of the total European car market, down from 7.7% last year. And their share is expected to shrink further in coming years, as manufacturers are pulling out of this segment or switching their models to EV-only. This is a result of increasing costs to comply with stricter safety and especially emissions standards, which makes minicars nearly unprofitable, especially considering that for most models from European brands this is the only market.

Market share in other countries

In the United States, minicar segment cars represented 0.5% of the market share. In 2020 the highest selling minicar segment cars in the U.S. were the

Chevrolet Spark The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, 대� ...

and

Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Cars of the original Mini series called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (marque), including a number of different models produced ...

. In India, historically the A-segment cars had the highest sales. Sales have been in decline in recent years, falling from 70,000 sales per month in 2014 to 47,000 sales per month in 2016. As of 2019, several A-segment cars had successes outside Europe, such as Hyundai Grand i10,

Honda Brio The Honda Brio is an automobile produced by Honda since 2011. It is a city car/ subcompact car that is mainly sold in Southeast Asia and also in other regions, and positioned as an entry-level hatchback model slotted below the Fit/Jazz and the ...

Toyota Wigo The Daihatsu Ayla is a city car designed by Daihatsu and manufactured by Astra Daihatsu Motor in Indonesia, primarily developed for emerging markets. The Ayla is sold by Toyota as the Toyota Agya in Indonesia, South Africa, Tunisia, Americas (e ...

, Suzuki Celerio, Suzuki Wagon R, Suzuki/Maruti Alto,

Ford Figo The Ford Figo is a subcompact hatchback manufactured by Ford India in its Chennai and Sanand plants. Based on the Mark V European Ford Fiesta hatchback, the Figo has been sold in emerging countries between March 2010 and 2021. First generatio ...

, Smart ForTwo,

, and modern

References

{{Automobile configuration Euro car segments