The Ford Fiesta was one of the world’s top-selling cars throughout its history, but in 2023 the company stopped making it, a decision that baffled almost everyone.
With buyers increasingly turning to crossovers and SUVs and with the need to build new electric vehicles, Ford thought the time was right to say goodbye to the Fiesta. It’s a decision Ford will probably come to regret, and there are rumours it might make a comeback, most likely as an EV, especially as cities become more crowded and many are considering restrictions on SUVs.
Small cars have dominated our roads for decades, with models like the Fiesta, Opel Corsa and Volkswagen Polo. VW recently revealed the new electric ID Polo, showing it remains committed to the small car market, but a recent trip to the Audi Forum in Neckarsulm, Germany, got me thinking about the small cars that have made a big impression, although not always in the sales figures.
I was there for the 25th anniversary of the Audi A2, a car that was never sold in SA but one I have always been enamoured with. I owned one until recently, impressed by its innovation in design and engineering. Launched in 2000, it was way ahead of its time, with an aluminium space frame inspired by that of the luxury Audi A8, an extremely versatile interior with back seats that could be removed, a split-floor boot, a service flap that allowed you to top-up fluids without opening the bonnet and aerodynamics that were so efficient that at certain speeds rain would just flow over the windscreen without even needing to use the wiper. It was clever, efficient and 95% recyclable, but importantly, it also had that Audi premium feel in the interior, quality and the way it drove. Audi lost money on each one, but today there are rumours it is considering another one as the German marque eyes the small car market once more.
Another car that was way ahead of its time and which also lost its company money, was the BMW i3. Engineers opted for a carbon-fibre body shell, just as they did in the BMW i8 performance hybrid. Like the A2 it was full of innovation, from the recycled hemp used to cover the dashboard to the coach doors and packaging of the battery pack.
Sales numbers for these never came close to those of some of the biggest names in the small car market, of course, but BMW didn’t really lose out when it stopped production of the i3 in 2022 because it still has the Mini. About 14-million have been sold since it appeared in the market in 1959, more than half of which have been under BMW’s stewardship of the model. In 1959, it too was ahead of its time when it came to innovation in engineering and packaging, something BMW worked hard to emulate when it bought the badge and introduced its new Mini in 2001. Since then the range has expanded significantly, and the cars have grown in size, dwarfing the original to the extent that models like the Countryman fit firmly in the small SUV segment.
Italy also played a major role in the small car population, most notably with the Fiat 500. Launched in 1957, it was the perfect solution for narrow Italian streets and crowded cities. It was a perfect case of form follows function, with clever packaging, an interior that was surprisingly spacious for a car measuring less than 3m in length and derivatives to suit various lifestyles, including a folding sunroof and a station wagon. Like the Mini, it was reborn in 2007, slightly larger than the original but still with masses of character, and while its sales numbers are no match for its Anglo-German rival, it has legions of fans.
Rivals such as the Peugeot 205 and its successors, as well as the Renault 5 and its modern equivalent, the R5 electric car, have all enjoyed their own success in the small car market. Mercedes-Benz even continues to try with its Smart car, but for many, that is just too small.
It is not just city planners that see a future for small cars, though. Many car makers themselves see enormous potential. The move towards cars as mobility devices is driving this, especially an autonomous vehicle future.
Will there come a time when we just summon up our small car on an app and it takes us into work, immediately returning home to take the kids to school? Many futurists will say this is exactly what the future of mobility will look like, although of course there will be those who relax in the luxury of a self-driving Bentley or BMW 7 Series. In a world where the car does the driving while you watch your favourite TV show or engage in a Zoom meeting, we could well see the small car David get its own back on the Goliath SUV.
