Small cars will no longer mean cheap cars as the car market is set for minor revolution, it is predicted. According to Network Automotive, the long established perceived link in car buyer’s mind between vehicle size and prestige is about to be blown apart.
The specialist automotive consultancy firm expects that with a host of new prestige small cars about to hit the roads, motorists will no longer think that buying a small car means foregoing luxury.
The arrival of cars such as the Audi A1, Aston Martin Cygnet and a potential sub-1-Series BMW signals a major shift.
The firm’s managing director Colin Bruder said: “Since the motor industry achieved a recognisable structure in the 1920s, manufacturers and customers have almost always linked a car’s size with its prestige. A luxury car was a large car.
“However, we are seeing real efforts to overturn that thinking. The MINI has paved the way for this in recent years as a mainstream hatchback that frequently carries a £20,000 invoice price but now we are seeing further steps.”
Bruder pointed to the Aston Martin Cygnet – a bespoke version of the Toyota iQ city car – as the most extreme example of this trend but said that the real shift was occurring with the arrival of the Audi A1, the Citroen DS3 and the rumoured BMW 0 Series, a front wheel drive hatch which has been the subject of speculation in motoring magazines and could be based on the MINI platform.
He explained: “These are prestige small hatchbacks that will carry price tags around 40 per cent higher than a comparable mainstream car. Customers will be asked to pay a hefty premium for a prestige brand and, I believe, will do so.”
The environment will benefit from this cultural shift too, as smaller cars are naturally able to achieve greater miles to the gallon and produce less CO2 emissions. This shift is necessary for the motor industry meet its obligations to reduce environmental impact, including the EU set target for average fleet CO2 emissions of 130g/km by 2012. Growing consumer demand for smaller cars –driven rising fuel costs-is also influencing the type of ‘luxury car’ that manufacturers are producing.
