Light car

A subcompact car is the American term for an automobile with a class size smaller than a compact car, usually not exceeding 165 inches (4,191 mm) in length, but larger than a microcar. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a passenger car is classified as subcompact if it has between 85 cubic feet (2,407 L) and 99 cu ft (2,803 L) of interior volume.

The subcompact segment equates roughly to A-segment and B-segment in Europe, or city car and supermini in British terminology. In 2012, the New York Times described the differences, saying "today’s small cars actually span three main segments in the global vehicle market. The tiny A-segment cars include the Chevrolet Spark and Smart Fortwo. They’re extremely short and very light. Slightly larger are B-segment cars like the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Sonic. The A- and B-cars are known as subcompacts."

In North America, the term "subcompact" came into popular use in the early 1970s with the introduction of new domestic-built models produced by North American automakers in response to the growing popularity of small imported cars from Europe and Japan. Previously, cars in this size were variously categorized, including "small automobile" and "economy car." This type of car has been around since the 1940s with the Crosley, and in the 1950s with the captive import, the Nash Metropolitan. A number of imported models, notably the Volkswagen Beetle and various small British cars, were also marketed as "economy" cars during this time.

The AMC Gremlin was described at its April 1970 introduction as "the first American-built import" and the first U.S. built subcompact car. The Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto subcompacts were introduced in September 1970 for the 1971 model year.

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