Segment advanced to fourth largest as most models see good growth in 2017
Sales in the US mid-sized SUV segment rose by 10.3% to 542,547 in the fourth quarter of 2017, while overall in 2017 sales in the segment grew by 9.4% to 1,988,460. Such fast growth allowed the mid-sized SUV segment to overtake the mid-sized segment in terms of sales in 2017 for the first time, making it the fourth largest segment overall [Read more…]
Strong growth from segment leaders and new models
Sales in the Mid-sized SUV segment increased by 9% in the third quarter of 2017, perfectly in line with the growth rate so far this year. Sales YTD now stand at 1,447,356, making this the fifth-largest segment, and only some 60,000 cars behind the rapidly-shrinking mid-sized car segment. If the trend condinues like this, the mid-sized SUV segment will jump ahead if not by the end of 2017, then most likely in 2018. That said, with Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and VW Atlas having hit the market recently there is a surprising dearth of new metal coming in 2018, the only exception being the new Hyundai Santa Fe, with the aging Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota Highlander and Nissan Pathfinder all still some way off from being replaced.
Sales in the Mid-sized SUV segment increased by 9.5% in the first half of 2017, an improvement on the 4.4% gain the segment experienced in 2016. What’s more, the absolute volume of 952,645 put the segment once again within spitting distance of the mid-sized car segment, underlying how the market has shifted in favor of crossovers in the past two decades. That said, 2017 does not seem like the year that mid-sized crossovers overtake the mainstream cars, for while there is plenty of new metal coming to the market (Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and VW Atlas), none of these models are likely to trouble the segment leaders or add that greatly to the segment total. [Read more…]
Sales in the Mid-sized SUV segment increased by 7.3% in the first quarter of 2017, following a 4.4% gain in 2016. Total volume for Q1 was 445,875, which means it’s closing in on the midsized sedan segment. Of the 18 models in this segment, 7 showed double digit growth or better, 8 showed double digit declines, 2 showed single digit declines and only one model increased by less than 10%. This year we’ll see the introduction of the new, super-conservative VW Atlas, as well as the second-generation Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse and the smaller (“right-sized”) GMC Acadia and an updated Ford Explorer. Next year Subaru will join the party too with its Ascent. [Read more…]
The annual New York Auto Show is one of the most popular auto shows in the world, it’s traditionally held at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan and this year it runs from Friday April 14 through Sunday April 23. That means it’s the last of the major auto shows in North America, after LA in November, Detroit in January and Chicago in February. As a result, the number of real new product launches and concept cars is relatively limited, especially compared to the most important of them all: Geneva. Still, we’ve had our pick of winners and losers of the show, and as usual we just can’t seem to agree on most of them. Let us know your view in the poll or in the comments below.
Kriss: Not
See the new TLX in isolation and you may think to yourself “wow, this is a pretty good-looking car”, but wish the grille wasn’t quite as big and brash as it is. Well, then, you’re in luck – there is a version of this car without this ugly new grille, and it’s called the pre-facelift TLX. Now, don’t get me wrong, the TLX is still pretty good looking, it’s just that with this facelift Acura managed to either botch the changes the TLX needed (the new grille is not an improvement, and does not go far enough to give this car “personality”) and not change things at all (the interior still looks no better than on the mass-market Accord). Acura is desperately looking for a car that will change the fortunes of its mainstream offerings, and this is not it, sadly.
Bart: Hot
What a difference a grille makes! Acura pulls trick from the Lexus playbook, using the motto: it doesn’t have to be stylish, as long as it’s brash. As opposed to Kriss, I think it’s an improvement compared to the pre-facelift version. The TLX goes from utter wallflower with its beak-nose to one of the most aggressive designs in the segment with its enormously wide grille. I don’t find it particularly sophisticated, or even attractive for that matter (I’d still prefer a C-Class, Q50 or even the aging 3-Series over it), but I just have to admire Acura for finally getting the point that just another vanilla sedan just isn’t going to cut it in this competitive segment anymore. Besides the sheer size of the grille, and the graphics inside it, there’s one more issue I have with the front end of the updated TLX: the lower part seems visually wider than the rest, which gives it a bit of a “heavy” presence, as if it has a double chin. The rear end has been cleaned up nicely, though.
Despite the cheap gasoline prices and an overall shift towards crossovers and SUVs across the board, we can still see a growing preference for smaller sizes: the larger the mainstream SUV segment, the slower its growth rate in the first quarter of 2016. If sales of subcompact crossovers in the US boomed with an increase of 162,5% and sales of compact crossovers in the US outgrew the market with a plus of 4.9%, midsized SUVs added just 3.7% to their volume in the same period of last year. Total segment sales stood at 412,039 units. And while the two smaller segments both welcomed a new leader, the Ford Explorer still tops the charts for midsized SUVs in the US, thanks to sales up 8%, a similar growth rate as its nearest two competitors Jeep Grand Cherokee and Toyota Highlander. [Read more…]
US consumers bought 1.74 million Mid-sized SUVs in 2015, a 10% increase over 2014 and a growth rate twice of that of the industry’s 5%. Only 2 out of the 18 remaining players in this segment lose volume, while 4 score volume records for their nameplates. Unlike the compact crossover segment, Japanese brands don’t dominate this ranking, as the Ford Explorer remains the best seller of the segment thanks to an increase of 19% to almost a quarter of a million sales, the model’s best volume since 2004. In fact, each of the top-3 models has now scored six consecutive years of volume increases. The Jeep Grand Cherokee added 7% in 2015 for its highest volume since 2005 and the Toyota Highlander added 9% to score a volume record in its 15th year on the market. [Read more…]
The Mid-sized SUV segment grew by 9% compared to the Q1-Q3 period in 2014, faster than the car market overall (5% growth). [Read more…]