The A-segment is the first category in the passenger

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 ...

system defined by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. It is used for city cars, the smallest category of passenger cars defined. A-segment sales represented approximately 4.2% of the European market in 2024. It is approximately equivalent to the

kei car Kei car is the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles. The term ''kei'' is a shortening of , (kanji: ), which translates to English as "light vehicle" (). With restricted dimensions and engine specifications, owners ...

class in Japan.

Definition

As of 2021, the A-segment category size spans from approximately to .

Characteristics

Body styles for A-segment cars in Europe are always

hatchback A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...

s. But as crossovers gain popularity, new models may shift to resemble crossovers. Examples of

crossover city car A crossover, crossover SUV, or crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is a type of automobile with an increased ride height that is built on unibody chassis construction shared with passenger cars, as opposed to traditional sport utility vehicles ( SU ...

s include

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 ...

and

Toyota Aygo X The Toyota Aygo X (pronounced Aygo Cross) is a crossover city car (A-segment) 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 Rep ...

. Other body styles such as

sedans A sedan (American English) 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 ''sedan'' in reference to an automobile body oc ...

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

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 Automobiles, Fiat since 1980, currently in its third generation. The first generation Panda, introduced in 1980 as the Mk1, was a Car body configurations#Two-box design, two-box, thr ...

Fiat 500 The Fiat 500 (, ) is an Economy car, economy / city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975. It was sold as a two-door semi-convertible or saloon car and as a three-door panel van or estate car. Launched ...

Toyota Aygo The Toyota Aygo is a city car (A-segment) marketed by Toyota mainly in the European market between 2005 and 2022 across two generations. The Aygo was first displayed at the Geneva International Motor Show#2005, 2005 Geneva International Motor S ...

Renault Twingo The Renault Twingo is a city car made by the French company Renault from 1992 to 2024 across three generations. The name is a portmanteau of ''twist'', ''swing'', and ''tango''. The first-generation Twingo (two door, front engine) debuted at t ...

Volkswagen Up! The Volkswagen Up (stylized as Volkswagen up!) is a city car produced by the Volkswagen Group from 2011 to 2023. It was unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany (IAA). Production of the Up started with the model year of 2012, in D ...

, Hyundai i10,

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 () in South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan (first two generations) and Chile, Kia EuroStar in Taiwan ...

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 ...

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 al ...

and

. 100,000 - 200,000 sales (Best-Selling) File:2010 Fiat 500 Lounge 1.2 Front.jpg,

Fiat 500 (2007) The Fiat 500 is an A-segment city car manufactured and marketed by the Italian car maker Fiat, a subdivision of Stellantis, since 2007. It is available in hatchback coupé and fixed-profile convertible body styles, over a single generation, wit ...

1st generation (2007–2024)
Made in Poland File:2012 Fiat Panda Easy 1.2 Front.jpg ,

3rd generation (2011–present)
Made in Italy 50,000 - 100,000 sales File:VW high up! 1.0 BlueMotion Technology (Facelift) – Frontansicht, 21. April 2017, Düsseldorf.jpg,

1st generation (2011–2023)
Made in Slovakia File:2018 Kia Picanto 3 Automatic 1.2 Front.jpg,

3rd generation (2017–present)
Made in South Korea File:Renault Twingo FL Monrepos 2019 IMG 1948.jpg,

3rd generation (2014–2024)
Made in Slovenia File:Hyundai i10 1.0 Intro (III) – f 03012021.jpg, Hyundai i10
3rd generation (2019–present)
Made in Turkey File:2022 Toyota Aygo X Edge 1.0 VVT-i (Front).jpg,

1st generation (2022–present)
Made in Czech Republic 10,000 - 50,000 sales File:Suzuki Ignis (third generation) Facelift IMG 4450.jpg,

2nd generation (2016–present)
Made in India File:2017 Citroen C1 Flair Puretech 1.2 Front.jpg,

2nd generation (2014–2021)
Made in Czech Republic File:2018 Peugeot 108 Collection 1.0 Front (1).jpg,

2nd generation (2014–2021)
Made in Czech Republic 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 from 2012 to 2024. The hatchback models produced between 1978 and 2003 were classified as subcompact cars, while the sedan ...

6th generation (2012–present)
Made in Thailand File:Smart EQ fortwo IMG 3100.jpg, smart EQ fortwo
3rd generation (2016–2024)
Made in France File:Dacia_Spring_Electric_45_Business_–_f_20062021.jpg,

Dacia Spring The Renault Kwid is a crossover city car produced by the French car manufacturer Renault, initially intended for the Indian market and launched in 2015. In 2017, an improved Brazilian version was introduced for Latin American markets. Its bat ...

1st generation (2021–present)
Made in China

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 () is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was developed by Daewoo and introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz (). In 2002, General Motors purchased Daewoo Motors, which ...

and

Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Performance Cars of the original Mini series with uprated drive train and brakes, called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and also the successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (mar ...

. 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,

Tata Tiago The Tata Tiago is a Hatchback, 5-door hatchback city car made by Tata Motors Cars, Tata Motors in India since 2016. Codenamed the "Kite" during development, the Tiago was previously announced as the Tata Zica, with "Zica" short for "zippy car ...

, Toyota Wigo,

Suzuki Celerio The Suzuki Celerio is a hatchback city car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Suzuki since 2008. Originally a rebadged Alto/A-Star city car for some markets, the Celerio was made as a global nameplate and a standalone model replacing the A-S ...

Suzuki Wagon R The is a kei car manufactured and marketed by Suzuki since 1993. The R in the name stands for Revolution and Relaxation. The Wagon R uses a "tall wagon" configuration to maximize cabin space within kei car dimensional restrictions. The Wag ...

, Suzuki/Maruti Alto,

Ford Figo The Ford Figo was 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 generati ...

Smart ForTwo The Smart Fortwo (stylized as "smart fortwo") is a two-seater city car manufactured and marketed by the Smart (marque), Smart division of the Mercedes-Benz Group for model years 1998–2024, across three generations — each using a rear-engi ...

, and modern

References

{{Automobile configuration Euro car segments