Toyota still believes in the A segment in Europe
- The A segment (the smallest and cheapest cars on the market) is in free fall in Europe. The number of different models produced in this region has increased from 15 in 2012 to 8 in 2022, which means that it has been halved in ten years, and Inovev predicts that there will be only 6 in 2023 and probably 4 in 2025.
- A-segment models recently removed from the European manufacturing program were the Peugeot 108, Citroën C1, Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo. The Smart Fortwo and Forfour will in turn be phased out over the next few weeks. As for the Renault Twingo and the Volkswagen Up, their fate is already sealed because they should be removed within the next two years, according to their manufacturer. Their replacements will be segment B electric cars (R5, ID2) and not segment A.
- There is a 50% drop in the production of segment A cars in Europe between 2016 (1.2 million vehicles produced) and 2022 (600,000 vehicles produced), due not to a drop in demand but to a scarcity of supply, the reason given by the manufacturers being the low profitability of this type of model. However, 20% of sales of segment A cars in Europe are in 100% electric versions, therefore at much higher prices. This 20% of electric versions represents double the proportion of sales of cars in other segments. There is therefore a real market for electric A-segment cars, but manufacturers seem to be losing interest in this demand. Toyota still believes in the A segment in Europe by launching the Aygo X, but this small car scheduled for 100,000 sales per year will not be available in a hybrid or electric version.
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