Why is it so difficult for these manufacturers to sell a $5000 to $10000 4-door hatchback?
Sure the margins might be razor thin but the market in NA is essentially untapped. (I am certain I am wrong here because silly Americans want big cars so there's actually no market. But let's assume we can somehow convince enough people to buy one...)
Even I, a non-industry outsider can see the great potential for a very modern petrol/EV hybrid and compact city car thats loaded with smart tech (still offline). Imagine all the cool stuff we can do with it like color themes and modern LED based lighting and good features like physical buttons and a bangin' sound system. Not to mention we can have top notch safety features and not sacrifice mileage since it will be a small car.