It’s something that fascinates visitors to Amsterdam. You’ll be walking the streets, taking in the gorgeous architecture and dreamy canals, when you see something a bit strange: a tiny car trundling along the road.

That, readers, is a microcar, and it’s a key part of transport in the Netherlands. For tourists, they might be a photo opportunity, but for the Dutch? They’re just a normal part of everyday life. In fact, more than a novelty, microcars are a category that could benefit countries around the world.

Before we get there though, let’s look at the Dutch relationship to these tiny vehicles.

The history of microcars in the Netherlands

Microcars have their origins with gehandicaptenvoertuigregels (disabled vehicle rules), which are a set of regulations that allow for ultra-small vehicles to operate without a full driver’s license and, in some cases, use cycle paths and sidewalks. The idea is to enable people who have issues with mobility to move around urban environments without the need for lots of red tape.

Out of this came the Canta. This Dutch microcar was built in the 1990s with the aim of making it easy for people with disabilities to get around. Some Canta configurations, for example, had the passenger seats removed so wheelchair users could enter the car from the rear and roll up to the steering wheel.

Because the Canta was built to exacting specifications (they are just 1.1 metres wide), it qualified as a mobility aid, meaning that they could access cycle lanes, pedestrian zones, park on the sidewalk, and didn’t require a standard driver’s license.

Over time, the Canta became a Dutch icon, albeit one heavily associated with being a mobility aid. This was the standard of modern microcars in the Netherlands — until the Birò arrived.

Here comes the revolution

The Canta was a recognisable part of Dutch cities, but it wasn’t a particularly fashionable one. Its goal was function, not style, a state of affairs that the Birò took full advantage of.

Made by the Italian company Estrima, the Birò is an electric microcar. Originally released in 2009, the vehicle started to make waves in Amsterdam in the mid-2010s. The aesthetically pleasing microcar was an immediate hit. While Cantas remained closely associated with accessibility and the elderly, Biròs were increasingly adopted by wealthy urbanites, lawyers, and business owners.

The vehicles marked a shift in microcars from being tools for assistive mobility to a lifestyle choice. And they proved popular. The problem, though, was that rafts of people adopted them. This led to the microcars driving on bike lanes and parking wherever they wanted. Rules that were put in place to help people with disabilities were being exploited by those who wanted an easy ride.

It was inevitable the legal system would get involved.

How the Dutch changed the definition of microcars

For a while, microcars were able to have their cake and eat it. In many instances, vehicles like Biròs had both the benefits of a compact car and a bicycle. Legally, the city was their oyster. This upset the balance of places like Amsterdam, though, leading to issues with parking and congestion in bike lanes.

It couldn’t last and, in 2019, an Amsterdam magistrate ruled that Biròs should no longer be treated as special mobility vehicles, instead being treated like mopeds. This meant they could no longer park on the pavement and drive on cycle lanes.

On paper, this could’ve been a bad thing, a death knell for microcars — but the opposite happened. Microcar purchases have actually risen since then:

According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), there were 23,666 microcars on the roads in the Netherlands at the end of 2025. General interest in microcars has also risen and, while they are still somewhat associated with the elderly, that is changing, and fast.

International car brands are entering the market and releasing microcars, with models such as the Citroën Ami, Fiat Topolino, and Opel Rocks-e all proving successful in reaching younger generations.

The future of microcars in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is an innovator in changing how people move. As we’ve covered before, biking isn’t something that was in Dutch people’s DNA; the success of this mode of transport comes from a long-term commitment to making it viable for as many people as possible.

We may be seeing a similar thing happening with microcars — and it’s something the rest of the world can benefit from.

In Europe, statistics show that 30% of car journeys are less than 3 km, while 50% are less than 5 km. Microcars are perfect for these sorts of distances. Sure, you don’t want to drive three hours across the country in a microcar, but it’s a much greener, efficient, and cheaper way to cover many of the short runs people take, especially in urban environments.

This is a driving factor for microcars’ popularity in the Netherlands; they serve as a useful tool for distances that feel too short to drive, but too long to cycle. It’s a sweet spot that Europe and beyond can take advantage of.

The question, of course, is whether other countries can adapt to this new reality. Because while microcars might seem like a novelty item at first, they can be a vital cog in the micromobility transition.

Image Credits: WaaijenbergMobiliteit