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…]
Sales in the Mid-sized SUV segment increased by 4.4 percent in 2016 to a total of 1,803,382 units, a slightly faster rate of growth then the Compact SUV segment, but considerably slower than the double-digit growth registered by the other two, smaller mainstream SUV segments. 2017 will 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. [Read more…]
Sales of Mid-sized SUVs increased by 2% in the third quarter of 2016, similar to the second quarter and bringing the year-to-date increase to 1.359.559 sales and up 3%, which is still faster than the overall market. In the segment top-10, only three models lost volume, including the best selling model of the segment as the biggest loser of the top-10. [Read more…]
Sales in the Mid-sized SUV segment grew by 2 percent in the second quarter of the year, slightly slower than the 4 percent growth in the first quarter of the year, for a total of 868,715 cars in the first half of 2016. With such sales figures the segment finds itself in a bit of a no man’s land between the likes of Large and Minivan segments (both around 300,000 units over the half year) and segments like Compact or Large Pickup (both with slightly over a million units over the time period). However, if the Compact segment continues shrinking as it has been recently (down 6 percent in the first half of 2016), than the Mid-sized SUV sector will catch it sooner rather than later. [Read more…]
Recently I’ve been looking to buy a car capable of carrying more than the usual five passengers, which got me thinking about the way this market has developed over the past few decades, and how it will change in the future. However, rather than spend time retreading the topic that’s been covered thousands of times, namely the history of the minivan and SUVs, I want to focus on the the interesting efforts by carmakers to offer those looking for space something genuinely new and potentially market-changing. In the first of a series of articles, I look at the brief history of the family-haulers, and then dive into the American experience of looking for the middle ground between the unsexy minivan and the gas-guzzling and compromised SUVs.
The large SUV segment in Europe shrinks 9% in Q1 of 2016 while the overall market grows by 8%, after the segment grew a healthy 23% in 2015. Only two models improve their volume on the same quarter of last year: the new leader Kia Sorento, boosted by the all-new generation, and the evergreen Mitsubishi Pajero. That leaves last year’s leader Hyundai Santa Fe in 2nd place with sales down 22%, probably thanks to cannibalization from both the new Sorento and the new Hyundai Tucson, even though that model is a class smaller. I have no substantiated explanation for the rebound of the Pajero, which started last year when it gained 22%. A small facelift hasn’t exactly turned the already 10 year old model into a hot fresh thing, especially since the engines are simply carried over.
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…]