European Market
After the Second World War, European manufacturers usually featured two vehicle types: small cars and large saloons. In the 1960s, some brands found that many middle class buyers wanted something larger than superminis, and built small family cars. These were usually saloons, with the first successful hatchback in this class being the 1974 Volkswagen Golf, which moved the layout of the smaller Renault 5 to this segment. This proved popular and by the end of the decade, several other manufacturers launched hatchbacks like the Fiat Ritmo, Citroën GSA, Renault 14, and Opel Kadett.
The 1980s began with the launch of two more front-wheel drive hatchbacks: the Ford Escort Mk III and the Lancia Delta. Similar cars such as the Renault 11, Peugeot 309, updated Opel Kadett, Renault 19, Fiat Tipo, and second generation Rover 200 followed over the course of the decade. Alfa Romeo's venture into this market, the Nissan-based Arna, was one of the few unsuccessful European small family hatchbacks of the 1980s.
The 1990s saw small family cars firmly pitch themselves as the most popular class of car in Europe. The Volkswagen Golf Mk III was launched in 1991 and elected European Car of the Year. Citroën replaced the GSA with the large family car BX and later the small family car ZX. The ZX's chassis spawned the Peugeot 306 in 1993. Fiat replaced the Tipo in 1995 with the distinctive Bravo and Brava (three-door and five-door hatchbacks, respectively). In 1998, Ford launched the all-new Ford Focus, completing sales of run-out Escort versions in 2000.
According to 2011 sales, compact cars are currently the second segment in Europe after the subcompact one (which in Europe corresponds to A-segment + B-segment), with approx. 3 millions units sales. Currently, the Volkswagen Golf is not only the leader of the segment but also of the European market (sold almost 500 thousands units during 2011). Volkswagen Group leads the segment with other successful models as Skoda Octavia (approx. 180k units), the premium Audi A3 (approx. 140k units) the Spanish Seat Leon (approx. 70k units) and the sedan version of the Golf, the Volkswagen Jetta (approx. 40k units). Other successful European models, over 300k units sold in 2011, are the Opel Astra and the Ford Focus. Bit less for the Renault Megane, with 250k units.
Some small family cars have also spawned compact MPVs, the first of which was the 1996 Renault Scénic. The Opel Zafira, Citroën Xsara Picasso, Ford Focus C-MAX, Volkswagen Touran, SEAT Altea, Peugeot 5008 and Fiat Multipla followed and are becoming increasingly popular. In few years they outsold estates and saloons in many countries. A more recent trend is to build coupé cabriolets with components from these vehicles. Examples of this are the Peugeot 308 CC, Opel Astra TwinTop, Ford Focus Coupe-Convertible, and Volkswagen Eos.
Read more about this topic: Compact Car
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