THESE are worrying times for buyers of small cars. The move towards electrification, ever-tightening emissions laws, and car companies’ quest for higher profit margins have driven several big players to leave the market altogether. Who’d have thought, even three years ago, that Ford would just kill off the Fiesta?
Small cars matter; they’re how vast numbers of car owners get around, for lots of reasons: purchase price, running costs, ease of parking – and the fact that many people just don’t need or want anything bigger. There’s a risk that lots of brands could turn away from those buyers, just when they need these products the most.
So there was some cheer to be gleaned, I thought, from the bullish statements made by Fiat boss Olivier François last week. He…
