Drivers wanting small petrol cars ideal for nipping around town and parking in tight spaces now have extremely limited options in showrooms.

Instead, buyers searching for this type of motor are most likely to be corralled into EV ownership as the segment has already become dominated by compact battery vehicles.

It comes as manufacturers over the last 36 months have been killing off a number of much-loved internal combustion engine (ICE) models in the pursuit to electrify their ranges for a zero-emissions future.

And it has typically been small and relatively inexpensive cars that have been first for the chopping block as brands go about reshaping their model line-ups ahead of the ban on new petrols and diesels from 2030.

This includes popular petrol cars of the likes of the Fiat 500 and VW Up.

As such, the number of ICE options available to motorists in the smallest 'A-segment' - commonly referred to as 'city cars' - has shrunk to just three choices.

The only alternative is to make the transition to an EV, which are more widely available in the smallest car category.

This shift in the market comes in contrast to what experts and motor industry bosses suggested would happen.

Major car makers have stated that small EVs are 'economically difficult' to bring to market due to high battery costs, while green campaigners have accused manufacturers of prioritising expensive large electric SUVs for profit over small affordable cars with far tighter margins.

City cars are the ideal solution for drivers needing compact runarounds that are cheap to buy and run and who rarely cover long-distance journeys.

They too are incredibly popular among young drivers due to their combined ease of use and ultra-low insurance costs.

But motorists wanting a vehicle of this description with a petrol engine under its bonnet are already faced with incredibly limited options on the market.

If you want an A-segment model, the only new cars in dealerships today are the Hyundai i10 (from £16,380), Kia Picanto (from £15,845) and Toyota Aygo X (from £16,515).

The city car category has become depleted of ICE choices over the last few years as manufacturers have culled various models, some of them very popular.

Last summer, Fiat retired both its 500 hybrid and petrol Panda from showrooms.

The former - which is based on a 20-year-old platform – has been killed off for failing to adhere to upgraded safety regulations demanded of new models.

The all-new 500e, introduced in 2021, is based on completely new architecture, however Fiat initially said it would be exclusively available with battery power. 

The Italian marque has since shifted its stance following disappointing demand and has already confirmed it will reverse-engineer the 500e's platform to incorporate a petrol-hybrid powertrain from next year to accommodate those not yet ready to transition to EV ownership.

The Panda has also since been replaced with the new Grande Panda EV and hybrid, however, its larger dimensions mean it now sits in the B-segment - commonly known as superminis - going up against rivals like the Vauxhall Corsa and Renault Clio.

Suzuki also ditched its Ignis last year.

Volkswagen officially retired its Up! city car at the end of 2023, following in the tyre tracks of its sister models, the Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo, which were dumped in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

While Toyota offers a third of the new city car options in showrooms today with its Aygo X crossover, the conventional Aygo hatchback was scrapped towards the end of 2021 - the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108, both using the same platform, were axed in January 2022.

Renault hauled the Twingo city car from its line-up in 2019, though has promised a new electric A-segment model using the same nameplate for next year. 

And while Smart ended production of its electric ForTwo in 2024, the demise of the petrol version came at the end of 2017.

And it's not just city cars being decommissioned ahead of an electric revamp of showrooms; Ford contentiously ceased production of Britain's best-selling car of all time, the Fiesta supermini, in summer 2023. Audi has this week reiterated its plan to discontinue its smallest car – the A1 – this year.

The emergence of small - and cheaper - funsize EVs

While fossil-fuelled compact cars are rapidly disappearing, in their places arrives a new wave of funsize EVs.

With petrol options dwindling to three, there are already five A-segment EVs. some of which are cheaper than their ICE equivalents.

Smallest of these battery city model is the new Leapmotor T03 - the sub-£16,000 EV from the Chinese maker. It has signed a deal with Stellantis to join its expansive UK dealer network with models going on sale this week.

At 3.6 metres long and just 1.6 metres wide, it has the most compact footprint of any new 'car' on sale in the UK today.

We say 'car' because Citroen's Ami (2.41m long and 1.39m wide) is far smaller but - like the equally minute Microlino bubble car - is classed as a 'quadricycle' due to its weight and restricted top speed. Quadricycles also do not need to pass the same strict crash protection tests that all passenger cars are mandated to achieve.

Other A-segment EVs include the previously-mentioned Fiat 500e and its spicier Abarth 500e sibling, soon-to-arrive Hyundai Inster and Britain's cheapest EV of all, the £14,995 Dacia Spring.

And more dinky EVs will follow this year.

Chinese EV giant BYD recently confirmed its electric Seagull, which is proving hugely popular in its home nation and other markets, will debut in Britain this year, though will be renamed Dolphin Surf for the UK market.

It is likely to start from under £20,000, bosses have said this week.

Why are all the small petrol cars disappearing?

With the A-segment now showing the strongest market share of EV options, it begs the question as to why manufacturers have been killing off their smallest petrol cars first.

It flies in the face of comments made by manufacturer execs in recent years who have suggested that ICE city cars and superminis are most likely of all segments to stay on sale closest to the end of the decade.

The UK boss at Kia, Paul Philpott, in 2023 said that car makers are finding it 'economically difficult' to bring affordable smaller vehicles to market due to the high cost of batteries.

Despite the Korean car firm selling an increasing volume of EVs, he hinted that small, affordable electric models from the brand might be some way off.

He said: 'The electrification of the small car is really difficult, economically speaking.'

However, campaign group Transport & Environment, accused car makers of playing tactics with their transition to EVs in a bid to reap the largest financial reward.

It said in 2023 that manufacturers are prioritising expensive battery-powered SUVs 'in pursuit of profits'.

The think tank estimated that major brands could sell compact EVs built in Europe for £21,000 and still pocket a profit but instead are focusing on large SUVs that are 'too big and bulky for British roads' but offer greater margins.

Dr Andy Palmer, CEO of Palmer Technology and former COO at Aston Martin, was boss at Nissan when it launched the first mass production EV, the Leaf, in 2011.

He told This is Money: 'An anomaly of the car industry is that profitable cars are usually in either the premium SUV space - think Porsche - or the affordable space - think Dacia. All points in between are a sea of red.

'As such, it follows that that's where an automaker targets EV deployment.'

But Andy says this isn't necessarily the case.

'In Japan, the small Kei-cars are a great starting point.

'Limited in size and features, with a small battery to keep down price, they are perfect for city use, which is where a lot of the worst air pollution is.

'Easy to park, easy to manoeuvre, and sometimes complying to lower regulatory standards such as quadricycle regulations in Europe, these cars keep costs low - and are there ideally to help accelerate EV adoption.'

For those who already own a petrol A-segment car, experts say it could become a slower depreciating asset than they originally would have thought.

Matthew Freeman from Solera cap hpi consulting, says petrol city cars are holding value exceptionally well due to the shrinking availability of new models.

'Manufacturers originally designed small cars to meet urban driving needs. Their production also helped manufacturers achieve CO2 and emissions targets,' he explained.

'In recent years as the focus has shifted to EVs, the need to produce new city cars has diminished as EVs are zero-emission.

'What we're seeing now is car manufacturers allocating more research and development into EVs.

'That's not to say that there isn't a market for small, city cars, there is and the very fact that less are being produced makes them more sought after, which means residual values of small, city cars remain strong in the used market.

'Looking beyond 2025, we will see new small cars coming into the market, but the focus will be on electric as we head towards the phase-out of non-zero-emission vehicle sales.'