Look back at how the car industry operated a few decades ago, certain manufacturers only made certain types of car, Peugeot made small, cute superminis while Audi stuck to large exec-mobiles. Take the German manufacturer BMW, they have always been considered a premium, desirable brand but years ago they would only produce certain types of cars that would be aimed at a specific audience. Now with models like the 1 series which have proved massively popular, BMW are no longer the manufacturer they once were, they are in fact even more popular and lucrative because they have made their models accessible to people who aren’t quite as well of or want a prestige hatchback.
BMW Contract hire cars make up their model range which means BMWs are now accessible to a huge audience. The same thing is happening within Audi, another German marque that are famous for their big, expensive cars, their release of the A1, their first ever supermini represents a new direct for the brand and is likely to bring them the success that the 1 Series brought BMW Audi contract hire.
This is not only the case with luxury brands however, Mini are synonymous with small cars but in the last couple of years they have released the club man, akin to an state car, and the Clubman, a small 4×4. So what is the reason for this trend, some brands simply want to appeal to a wider audience with bigger more varied ranges and contract hire deals while brands like Aston Martin are using smaller cars like their upcoming Cygnet to comply with soon to be enforced laws by lowering the overall emissions figures for their range.
