A-segment

The A-segment is the smallest category of passenger cars, often called city cars. It is defined by the European Commission and includes very small vehicles made for city driving. These cars are designed to be easy to park and drive in busy urban areas.

In 2024, A-segment cars made up about 4.2% of all car sales in Europe. They are similar to the kei car class in Japan, which also focuses on small, efficient vehicles for city use.

Some popular A-segment cars include the Fiat 500e, Fiat Panda, Toyota Aygo, Volkswagen Up!, and Kia Picanto. These cars are loved for their size, fuel efficiency, and ease of handling in crowded streets.

Definition

The A-segment is a group of very small cars, also called city cars. In 2021, these cars were between about 2.7 metres (110 inches) and 3.7 metres (150 inches) long.

Characteristics

A-segment cars in Europe are usually small hatchbacks, but some newer models look more like crossovers. Examples include the Suzuki Ignis and Toyota Aygo X. Sedans are less common because they don’t fit well in this small size.

These cars have often used manual gearboxes, but automatic options are becoming more common. Some newer models use special types of engines called CVTs, and a few have automated manual gearboxes. The engines are usually between 1.0 and 1.4 litres and can be either four-cylinder or three-cylinder types. Newer models may have turbocharged or hybrid engines to save fuel.

Current models

In 2020, some of the most popular small cars in Europe included the Fiat Panda, Fiat 500, Toyota Aygo, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Up!, Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Peugeot 108, Citroën C1, and Suzuki Ignis.

Some of these cars sold between 100,000 and 200,000 copies, such as the Fiat 500 (2007) made in Poland and the Fiat Panda made in Italy. Others sold between 50,000 and 100,000 copies, like the Volkswagen Up! made in Slovakia and the Kia Picanto made in South Korea. A few sold between 10,000 and 50,000 copies, including the Suzuki Ignis made in India and the Citroën C1 made in the Czech Republic.

Sales figures in Europe

In 2024, cars in the A-segment made up about 4.2% of all car sales in Europe. These small city cars are popular for their size and ease of parking in busy urban areas.

2022 rank	Brand	Model	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	% change (2021–2022)
1	Fiat	Panda	152,727	152,045	171,377	190,432	187,049	168,094	184,027	145,907	131,723	125,463	-5%
2	Hyundai	i10	60,324	80,819	86,004	85,385	90,603	83,102	78,791	50,233	56,074	54,137	-3.45%
3	Kia	Picanto	50,524	51,222	54,036	54,982	62,161	74,526	74,305	49,211	59,949	51,962	-13.32%
4	Dacia	Spring	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1,724	25,740	48,431	+88.15
5	Renault	Twingo	78,432	81,574	95,808	84,766	77,326	86,221	87,383	73,345	58,161	42,526	-27%
6	Volkswagen	Up!	130,039	124,845	105,348	96,836	100,715	97,366	80,048	59,578	69,400	39,147	-43.59%
7	Mitsubishi	Mirage/Space Star	13,978	22,008	29,547	27,386	30,016	36,105	38,002	35,703	32,662	27,964	-14.38%
8	Suzuki	Ignis	-	-	-	1,602	41,166	43,774	38,091	37,568	42,206	20,826	-50.66%
9	Smart	Fortwo	65,226	52,059	57,056	69,169	65,800	62,361	77,766	19,576	26,869	17,560	-34.65%
10	Toyota	Aygo	57,002	68,874	86,085	84,321	84,588	92,187	99,510	82,711	82,820	9,646	-88.35%
11	Peugeot	108	-	31,087	68,522	63,561	55,831	57,257	54,230	43,629	34,689	3,875	-88.83%
12	Smart	Forfour		3,757	39,543	37,133	34,253	34,975	36,736	7,640	8,823	3,633	-58.82%
13	Citroën	C1	56,722	53,518	63,695	62,537	53,292	52,020	49,900	40,578	35,897	3,559	-90.09%
14	Škoda	Citigo	44,851	40,616	38,735	38,664	35,698	36,450	30,786	14,120	5,264	53	-98.99%
15	SEAT	Mii	28,608	24,865	24,298	19,882	15,412	13,031	12,641	7,790	9,428	51	-99.46%

	Fiat	500 (2007)	158,918	180,403	180,005	183,194	189,360	188,448	175,017	141,313	175,950	-
	Renault	Kwid	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	65	439	-
	Suzuki	Celerio	-	894	25,393	26,465	23,417	20,836	13,275	2,035	16	-
	Citroën	C-Zero	-	-	1,075	1,780	1,105	1,247	980	1,839	14	-
	Peugeot	iOn	-	-	1,461	1,881	1,544	1,651	865	333	4	-
	Citroën	E-Mehari	-	-	-	569	353	321	154	78	-
	Mitsubishi	i-MiEV	-	-	714	484	447	325	171	57	-
	Opel/Vauxhall	Adam	45,756	54,207	55,278	52,938	48,181	41,817	31,129	5	-
	Mitsubishi	Attrage	-	-	352	168	114	62	88	1	-
	Opel/Vauxhall	Karl/Viva	-	-	28,607	57,458	49,516	48,292	47,504	0	-
	DR Automobiles	Zero	-	-	-	261	174	-	-	0	-
	Lancia/Chrysler	Ypsilon	57,613	62,807	59,501	66,941	-	-	-	-	-
	Ford	Ka	50,012	52,854	48,368	21,333	204	16	-	-	-
	Peugeot	107	55,244	24,356	88	5	1	2	-	-	-
	Chevrolet	Spark	37,268	10,138	479	96	2	3	-	-	-
	Suzuki	Alto	26,821	26,876	5,710	4	2	-	-	-	-
	Suzuki	Splash	15,563	13,232	2,663	11	-	-	-	-	-
	Opel/Vauxhall	Agila	14,020	12,200	2,054	19	1	-	-	-	-
	Toyota	iQ	5,462	3,593	292	172	2	3	-	-	-
	Tata	Indica		345	52	3	-	-	-	-	-
	Nissan	Pixo	3,321	131	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	DR Automobiles	DR1	21	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Daihatsu	Cuore/Charade	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Volkswagen	Fox	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Abarth	500	-	-	-	-	18,499	20,570	19,157	-	-
Segment total			1,208,431	1,229,352	1,332,146	1,330,438	1,266,832	1,261,062	1,230,556	814,974	856,129	448,833	-47.57%
Source

Market share in Europe

In 2019, the sales of small city cars in Europe dropped by 2%, even though the overall car market grew by 1%. This meant that these tiny cars made up 7.7% of all cars sold in Europe, down from 8% the year before. Because it costs more to make these cars meet safety and pollution rules, companies are investing less in them or focusing only on electric versions.

In 2020, sales of these small cars fell by a third in Europe, meaning nearly 400,000 fewer cars were sold. As a result, they made up 6.8% of all cars sold, down from 7.7% the year before. Experts think this share will keep getting smaller, as companies either stop making these cars or switch to only electric models. This change is happening because it’s becoming too expensive to meet the new rules, especially for pollution, making it hard for companies to profit from these small cars.