D-segment

D-segment (or large cars) is defined by European Commission[1] as the fourth segment in European market car classification. It approximately corresponds to Mid-size car and Entry-level luxury car segment in North America, or Large family car or Compact executive car in British English acceptation.

In Europe, they are mainly offered with sedan version, for which the size is approximately between 4,400 mm (173 in) and 4,500 mm (177 in).



A-segment

The A-segment is defined by the European Commission[1] as the first segment in the European market car classification (mini cars).

A proper definition does not exists, however the current European ranges of European manufactures is limited to approx. 3,600 millimetres (11 ft 10 in) in length. It corresponds to the City Car segment in British acceptation, and partially to the Subcompact Car segment in North America (although this segment also includes Supermini which are normally bigger, up to 3,900 millimetres (12 ft 10 in) length).



B-segment aka Supermini

Supermini (also called B-segment across Europe)[2] is a class of automobile larger than a city car but smaller than a small family car.

Cars of this class have increased considerably in size over the years. The Fiat Grande Punto, launched in 2005, was the first car in this category to exceed 4 meters in length, which is why the Italian carmaker Fiat decided to call it "Grande"("Big" in Italian).[citation needed]

In 2008, the best selling cars in the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia were all superminis.[citation needed] Overall in 2008, of the fifteen best selling types of car in Europe, seven were superminis. Superminis are usually available in hatchback body styles.



C-segment

C-segment is car size classification defined by the European Commission[1] as the third-smallest segment (above the A-segment and B-segment) in the European market. The C-segment corresponds approximately to the Compact Car segment in North America and the Small Family Car in British English terminology.

The C-segment includes only hatchback, sedan and Station Wagon configurations — as the European Commission reserves the M-segment for Multi-Purpose Cars and J-segment for Sport Utility Cars (including Off-road Vehicles), Light Commercial Vehicles, compact Sport Utility Vehicles (C-SUVs), compact Crossover Utility Vehicles (C-CUVs).

As the "segment" terminology became more common in the United States, 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 Chevy Spark and Smart Fortwo. They're extremely short and very light. Slightly larger are B-segment cars like the Ford Fiesta and Chevy Sonic. The A- and B-cars are known as subcompacts. In the C-segment — typically called compacts — are the largest of the small cars. Examples include the Toyota Corolla, a perennial sales leader, as well as the Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze, Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic and Volkswagen’s Golf and Jetta." [2]






SOS: for easier ref
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Car_classifications

D-segment (or large cars) is defined by European Commission[1] as the fourth segment in European market car classification. It approximately corresponds to Mid-size car and Entry-level luxury car segment in North America, or Large family car or Compact executive car in British English acceptation.

In Europe, they are mainly offered with sedan version, for which the size is approximately between 4,400 mm (173 in) and 4,500 mm (177 in).