Is the tiny A segment of the car market, representing mini cars, set for growth and revival? Tom McQueirns, managing director of Chevrolet Ireland, whose best-known baby on wheels is the Matiz, has no doubt about that.
"It's all to do with the times we live in," he says. "Oil prices are going to stay high and more and more Irish motorists who don't need a bigger car or do big mileages, will be taking more realistic decisions".
With this in mind Chevrolet, formerly Daewoo of Korea, is launching a new-look Matiz with the choice of 52 bhp 796cc 3-cylinder or 66 bhp 1-litre 4-cylinder engines. Until now the Matiz was marketed here with only the 3-cylinder unit.
Dimensionally the new 5-door Matiz is similar to the outgoing model. But it gains on specification with new standard features which include ABS and electric windows. The 1-litre, badged the Sports LE, comes additionally with roof rails, rear spoiler and fog lights. The 3-cylinder retails at just under €11,000, or €500 lower than its predecessor while the 1-litre is €11,595.
The A segment is lively just now with the arrival of the Toyota Aygo, the Peugeot 107 and the Citroën C1, all identical in their engineering and all built at a new plant in the Czech Republic. Will there be enough room for new and existing players given that the segment still represents under 3,000 cars a year.
McQueirns believes that, aside from the impact of escalating oil costs, the arrival of the Aygo/107/C1 trinity will create a fresh awareness about mini cars. "We think we will offer strong competition particularly because we are already established. The new Matiz should have a price advantage of €1,000 to €1,500 which is vitally important in a price conscious segment."
The new 1-litre Matiz is expected to account for about 70 per cent of total Matiz sales, estimated at between 300 and 400 cars next year. For the remainder of this year, there are orders for 150 cars.