Microcar

The first cars to be described as microcars (earlier equivalents were called voiturettes or cyclecars) were built in the United Kingdom and Germany following World War II, and remained popular until the 1960s.

France also produced large numbers of similar tiny vehicles called voiturettes, but they were rarely sold abroad.

[8]: 7  To provide better weather protection, three-wheeled microcars began increasing in popularity in the United Kingdom, where they could be driven using only a motorcycle licence.

[10][11] The 1959 introduction of the Mini, which provided greater size and performance at an affordable price, contributed to the decline in popularity of microcars.

[3] Production of microcars had largely ceased by the end of the 1960s, due to competition from the Mini, Citroën 2CV, Fiat 500 and Renault 4.

Recent microcars include the 2001 Aixam 5xx series, Renault Twizy, Citroën Ami, and XEV Yoyo.

Electric-powered microcars which have reached production include the 1987 CityEl, the 1990 Automobiles ERAD Spacia, the 1999 Corbin Sparrow, the 2001 REVAi, the 2005 Commuter Cars Tango, the 2009 Tazzari Zero and the resurrected Peel P50 of 2011 (the original model of 1962 - 65 being petrol powered).

In several European countries since then, microcars are classified by governments separately from normal cars, sometimes using the same regulations as motorcycles or mopeds.

Therefore, compared with normal cars, microcars often have relaxed requirements for registration and licensing, and can be subject to lower taxes and insurance costs.