The large SUV segment is one of the smallest in Europe with fewer than 53.000 sales in 2017, down 4%. Compare that to the US where almost 2 million of these vehicles were sold last year, up 9,4% and surpassing sales of midsized sedans for the first time. Unlike the midsized crossover segment, where some models are also available as 7-seaters, there are not a lot of new entrants to this segment in Europe, but brands are actually withdrawing their slow selling models, like Nissan which no longer sells the Murano and Pathfinder and Mazda which never really sold the CX-9 in significant quantities, as opposed to the US. Then again, Ford entered the segment in 2016 by bringing the Edge over from the States. And while absolute volume remains relatively low (16.000 in Europe vs. nearly 143.000 in the US), it has quickly become the segment leader with more than 30% share. However, the Edge was already down 31% in the last quarter when the segment as a whole lost 25% as the entire top-5 lost by double digits. Only the low-volume SsangYong Rexton gained volume thanks to the all-new generation now available in Europe.
Note: clicking on the model name opens the sales data page for that model; clicking year in the legend turns the display for that year on/off
The Hyundai Santa Fe loses its second place to its platform sibling Kia Sorento, as the former is down by 26% in Q3 as the new generation is due in 2018. The Sorento also loses 18% but both models still sell better than in their lowest year 2013. Behind this top-3 which accounts for more than 3 out of every 4 cars sold, we find two Japanese Golden Oldies, the body-on-frame Toyota Land Cruiser, down 17% as yet another facelift is expected for the model that’s been around since 2009, and the unibody Mitsubishi Pajero which was last renewed in 2006 and is starting to show its age with a decline of 21%. As mentioned above, the SsangYong Rexton benefits from the new “G4 Rexton” generation but remains a niche player in a niche segment so far.
A new Santa Fe is on its way for 2018 and will be available in two sizes again, although we expect Hyundai is planning to separate them more in terms of styling, with a sportier look for the 5-seater and a different name for the 7-seater.
Also check out the midsized SUV segment in the US, where the #13 sells more than the entire segment in Europe.
| Large SUV segment | 2017 | 2016 | Change | |
| 1 | Ford Edge | 16.000 | 9.200 | 74% |
| 2 | Kia Sorento | 12.570 | 15.344 | -18% |
| 3 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 11.728 | 15.937 | -26% |
| 4 | Toyota Land Cruiser | 5.237 | 6.286 | -17% |
| 5 | Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero / Shogun | 4.417 | 5.590 | -21% |
| 6 | SsangYong Rexton | 2.610 | 2.187 | 19% |
| 7 | Mazda CX-9 | 23 | 153 | -85% |
| Segment total | 52.669 | 54.783 | -4% |
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2016 and monthly sales from 2012 to 2016, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site.
Car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.
KWarcloudJ says
Santa Fe & Kia Sorento in the same chart with Land Cruiser??. Excellent job! :)). Price and curb weight varies by almost 40%-45%. The first 3 vehicles belong to a different classification. Not even the Ford Edge is not labeled as a large SUV. Moreover look at the sales volumes. Carsalesbase.com classifications and articles for US market are pretty accurate and in line with most of the internet. Cannot say the same about what is written about Europe.
Bart Demandt says
Hi KWarcloudJ,
thanks for your feedback. The crossover and SUV segments are all very close to each other in size and every quarter we have some readers who don’t agree with our segmentation. We are open to input from our readers and try to be as accurate as possible in segmenting the market.
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Keep in mind that the Land Cruiser in Europe is for at least 90% the Prado version, not the V8. Comparing the Prado to the Koreans, they are similar in size: 4.800mm. And similar in price (comparing prices in Germany): LC 5-door diesel starts at € 43.590,- Sorento diesel starts at € 43.990,- Grand Santa Fe diesel starts at € 48.200,- Sure, there’s a difference in weight as you mentioned: the Koreans weigh about 1.800kg and the Land Cruiser weighs 2.150kg but that’s because of the difference between a unibody and a body-on-frame construction.
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Now, one could argue that these cars are built for different purposes and may not be directly cross-shopped, but this is already a very small segment and I see no added value in making a separate segment just for the Land Cruiser, so this is why I’ve decided to just combine them into this segment. I hope you can live with that.