Excepting those of the Europe-wide safety assessment program Euro NCAP, vehicle segments in Europe do not have formal characterization or regulations. Although the definition is vague, there is little overlap between segments A–F based on weight and size parameters. PDF EU headliner
Models segments tend to be based on comparison to well-known brand models. For example, a car such as the Volkswagen Golf might be described as being in the Ford Focus size class, or vice versa. The VW Polo is smaller, so it belongs one segment below the Golf, while the bigger Passat is one segment above.
The names of the segments were mentioned, but not defined, in 1999 in an EU document titled Case No COMP/M.1406 Hyundai / Kia Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 Merger Procedure.
Code Meaningapprox. length Example Equivalent categories Image A mini Fiat 500 CityMinicompact (US)A00-class (China) B small Toyota Yaris Supermini (UK)Subcompact (US)A0-class (China) C medium Toyota Corolla Small family/subcompact executive (UK)Compact (US)A-class (China) D large Opel Insignia Large family/compact executive (UK)Mid-size (US)B-class (China) E executive BMW 5 Series Executive (UK)Full-size (US)C-class (China) F luxury and above Mercedes-Benz S-Class Luxury saloon (UK)Full-size luxury (US)D-class (China)Oberklasse (Germany) J sport utility Follows A-F as JA-JF See also: Crossover (automobile) Jeep Wrangler M multi-purposeLoosely follows B-F as Mini MPV, Compact MPV, Minivan Volkswagen ID. Buzz S sports Usually D-F sized Audi TT
See also Association of Car Rental Industry Systems Standards Car body style Car classification Truck classification Vehicle size class
References