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Microcar is a term often used for the smallest size of cars, with three or four wheels and often an engine smaller than . Specific types of microcars include bubble cars, cycle cars,
invacar The Invacar (abbreviated from "invalid carriage") was a small single-seater microcar vehicle designed for use by disabled drivers, and distributed for free in the UK. History In 1948, Bert Greeves adapted a motorbike for exclusively manual ...
, quadricycles and voiturettes. Microcars are often covered by separate regulations to normal cars, having relaxed requirements for registration and licensing.


Predecessors

Voiturette is a term used by some small cars and tricycles manufactured from 1895 to 1910. Cyclecars are a type of small, lightweight and inexpensive car manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s.


Europe 1940-1970: Microcars

The first cars to be described as microcars (earlier equivalents were called voiturettes or cyclecars) were built in the United Kingdom and Germany following World War II, and remained popular until the 1960s. They were originally called minicars, but later became known as microcars.
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
also produced large numbers of similar tiny vehicles called voiturettes, but they were rarely sold abroad.


Characteristics

Microcars have three or four wheels, although most were three-wheelers which, in many countries, meant that they qualified for lower taxes and were licensed as
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...
s. Another common characteristic is an
engine displacement Engine displacement is the measure of the cylinder volume swept by all of the pistons of a piston engine, excluding the combustion chambers. It is commonly used as an expression of an engine's size, and by extension as a loose indicator of the ...
of less than , although several cars with engines up to have also been classified as microcars. Often, the engine was originally designed for a motorcycle.


History

Microcars originated in the years following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, when
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...
s transport was commonly used. To provide better weather protection, three-wheeled microcars began increasing in popularity in the United Kingdom, where they could be driven using only a motorcycle licence. One of the first microcars was the 1949 Bond Minicar. Microcars also became popular in Europe. A demand for cheap personal motorised
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
emerged, and their greater
fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device ...
meant that microcars became even more significant when fuel prices rose, partly due to the 1956 Suez Crisis. The microcar boom lasted until the late 1950s, when larger cars regained popularity. The 1959 introduction of the
Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
, which provided greater size and performance at an affordable price, contributed to the decline in popularity of microcars. Production of microcars had largely ceased by the end of the 1960s, due to competition from the
Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
, Citroën 2CV, Fiat 500 and Renault 4.


Bubble cars

Several microcars of the 1950s and 1960s were nicknamed ''bubble cars''. This was due to the aircraft-style bubble canopies of vehicles such as the Messerschmitt KR175, Messerschmitt KR200 and the FMR Tg500. Other microcars, such as the Isetta, also had a bubble-like appearance. German manufacturers of bubble cars included former military aircraft manufacturers
Messerschmitt Messerschmitt AG () was a German share-ownership limited, aircraft manufacturing corporation named after its chief designer Willy Messerschmitt from mid-July 1938 onwards, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, in parti ...
and
Heinkel Heinkel Flugzeugwerke () was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with ...
. BMW manufactured the Italian Iso Rivolta Isetta under licence, using an engine from one of their own motorcycles. The
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
had licence-built right-hand-drive versions of the Heinkel Kabine and the Isetta. The British version of the Isetta was built with only one rear wheel, instead of the narrow-tracked pair of wheels in the normal Isetta design, in order to take advantage of the three-wheel vehicle laws in the United Kingdom. There were also indigenous British three-wheeled microcars, including the Peel Trident. Examples include the Citroën Prototype C, FMR Tg500, Fuldamobil, Heinkel Kabine, Isetta, Messerschmitt KR175, Messerschmitt KR200, Peel P50, Peel Trident, SMZ S-1L, Trojan 200, and Kleinschnittger F125.


Europe 1990-present

Recent microcars include the 2001
Aixam Aixam-Mega is a French automobile manufacturer based in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie. It was founded in 1983 to make microcars following the acquisition of Arola. On 11 April 2013, US based Polaris Industries announced that it had acquired Aixam-Mega ...
5xx series, Renault Twizy, Citroen Ami and
XEV Yoyo The XEV Yoyo is a 3D printed electric city car manufactured by Italian- Hong Kong-based startup XEV. It has a top speed of and a maximum range of . Overview XEV designed this car using only 57 components. The only parts that are not 3D printe ...
. Electric-powered microcars which have reached production include the 1987
CityEl The CityEl is a 3-wheel lightweight electric car originally designed and manufactured in Denmark, but currently made in Germany by Citycom GmbH. History The CityEl was originally developed as the Mini-El by Danish company El Trans A/S in Randers ...
, the 1990
Automobiles ERAD Automobiles ERAD (''Études et Réalisations du Douaisis'', "Concepts and Executions of Douai") was a French manufacturer of microcars. The company was founded by Daniel Renard in 1975, in Douai in northern France. Renard did not have a secondary ...
Spacia, the 1999
Corbin Sparrow The Myers Motors NmG (formerly the Corbin Sparrow) was a single-passenger, three-wheeled, battery electric vehicle designed specifically for commuting and city driving, produced from 1999 into the early 2010s. It was initially produced by Corbin ...
, the 2001 REVAi, the 2009 Tazzari Zero and the resurrected Peel P50 of 2011 (the original model of 1962 - 65 being petrol powered). The Smart Fortwo is often called a microcar in the United States; although it requires a regular licence to drive.


Quadricycle legislation

The European Union introduced the quadricycle category in 1992. In several European countries since then, microcars are classified by governments separately from normal cars, sometimes using the same regulations as
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...
s or
moped A moped ( ) is a type of small motorcycle, generally having a less stringent licensing requirement than full motorcycles or automobiles. The term used to mean a similar vehicle except with both bicycle pedals and a motorcycle engine. Mopeds ty ...
s. Therefore, compared with normal cars, microcars often have relaxed requirements for registration and licensing, and can be subject to lower taxes and insurance costs.


Microcar trucks

There are also a variety of microcar trucks, usually of the "forward control" or van style to provide more cargo room. These might be used for local deliveries on narrow streets that are unsuited to larger vehicles. The
Piaggio Ape The Piaggio Ape (; is ), initially marketed as VespaCar or TriVespa, is a three-wheeled light commercial vehicle, manufactured and marketed by Piaggio as an adaption of the company's Vespa scooter ( being Italian for 'wasp' instead). It is in co ...
is a three-wheeled example. The
Honda Acty The is a series of cabover microvans and kei trucks produced by the Japanese automaker Honda from 1977 to 2021, designed for the Japanese domestic market (JDM). "Acty" is short for "Activity". The Acty's primary competitors were the Subaru ...
is a four-wheeled example.


Microcars by country of origin


See also

*
Car classification Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars. The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 ''Road vehicles – Type ...
* Economy car * Neighborhood Electric Vehicle * Velomobile


References

{{Authority control Car classifications Quadricycles