Sales of compact crossovers continue to surge in Europe, with a 30% gain in 2017 to nearly 1,5 million sales or 9,6% of the overall market, up from 7,7% in 2016. The entire top-5 has set new sales records in 2017. We’ve decided to separate the tables of the compact and midsized crossover segments but still feature them in one post and in one graph as the models in these classes are so close to each other in size and there are so many different opinions on which models belong in which of these segments. Combined, sales in these segments are up 32% to 11,9% of the total European car market, of which Renault-Nissan controls 26% and VW Group 20%. The Nissan Qashqai is still the best selling crossover in Europe, despite adding just 6% to its record volume of 2016 to close in on a quarter million sales. Its closest rival is still the Volkswagen Tiguan, up 31% to become the second nameplate in this segment to top 200.000 sales and to close the gap with the top spot to less than 14.000 sales. The new Peugeot 3008 immediately jumps onto the segment podium with nearly 170.000 sales in its first full year, an impressive performance against any standard. It beats the two South-Korean rivals that have fought for the segment podium for years as well as the Ford Kuga which shows an impressive 27% growth despite being 5 years old already, apart from a facelift in 2016.
US car sales analysis Q4 2017 – Compact SUV segment
The largest segment got larger, while new cars are outperformed by established segment players
Sales in the US compact SUV segment, the largest of all segments, rose by 5.8% to 806,341 in the fourth quarter of 2017, while overall in 2017 sales in the segment grew by 4.6% to 3,159,468. What’s more, there seems to be no end in sight for this bonanza – not only did 2017 see a ton of new models debut in the market (Honda CR-V, [Read more…]
European sales 2017 Q1-Q3 compact & midsized crossover segments
The growth of the compact crossover segment in Europe slows down slightly in Q3 of 2017, but it’s still the second-fastest growing mainstream segment at +25% in the third quarter and +32% year-to-date. Almost 1,13 million compact crossovers have already been sold so far this year, virtually the same number as the small crossover segment whose growth curve has flattened. The Nissan Qashqai still tops the ranking and continues to win sales, but it’s losing share of the segment as it increased by just 8% both in Q3 and YTD. Its main rival Volkswagen Tiguan gained just 4% in the third quarter, as the new generation had just reached its full potential in the same period last year. Behind these two leaders, three players are having a pretty close race, selling within 2.000 units of each other in the third quarter. The Peugeot 3008 holds the final step of the segment podium and behind it, the Hyundai Tucson feels the Ford Kuga breathing down its neck in the third quarter as the Ford improves 11% while the Tucson sees stable sales. This top-5 holds almost two thirds of the segment with the rest of the top-10 holding nearly the other third as the remaining models make up just 2,6% of the segment. [Read more…]
US sales Q3 2017: Compact SUV segment
Sales in the largest of all segments, the compact SUV segment (2,379,590 sales YTD), grew by 4% in the third quarter, a better pace than the 1% registered in the second quarter, but some way off all the other SUV segments. Still, this still means that the segment grew by 4% YTD compared to a 3% decline for the market as a whole, as one would expect given the continued shift towards crossovers among the buying public. And with a ton of new models in the market (Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-5, Jeep Compass, Kia Niro, GMC Terrain, Subaru XV Crosstrek, VW Tiguan L) it is reasonable to expect the segments dominance will continue for a long time.
Look-a-like: VW T-Roc and…
The new VW T-Roc has brought a breath of fresh air to VW’s design, and unlike the most recent batch of Audis, or the new VW Arteon, it has done so without relying on an exaggerated grille. That said, while it all comes together very nicely, there are parts of the T-Roc’s design that immediately reminded me of cars that have come before it.
European sales 2017 first half: compact & midsized crossover segments
Sales of compact crossovers in Europe maintain their explosive growth rate, jumping 29% in Q2 and 33% in the first half, to 720.194 units. This is 8,6% of the total European market, almost 2 percentage points up from the 6,7% in the first half of 2016. The Nissan Qashqai holds on to its top spot for the first half, but sales were up only 2% in the second quarter as it was outsold by the Volkswagen Tiguan by 300 sales. It seems like the Qashqai will keep its crown of the segment for yet another year, extending its streak to 11 years as the compact crossover champion. The all-new Peugeot 3008 SUV storms up the charts to third place, up from #6 in the first quarter, proving it is an instant hit for the French brand. It’s unlikely to be able to challenge the two top players in this segment, considering it was still at only 75% of their volume in the second quarter, but nonetheless an impressive performance for a newcomer to the segment. It also manages to outsell the two South-Korean models which have been around for a few generations now and have built up quite some recognition and a customer base over the years. [Read more…]
US sales 2017 first half: Compact SUV segment
Sales in the Compact SUV segment grew at a leisurely 1.4% pace in the second quarter of 2017, a step down from the rate of growth the segment enjoyed in the first quarter (7.8%). Taken together, the segment grew at an average 4.4% in the first half of the year, a much better performance than the market as a whole (sales fell 2.3% overall), but still a slower rate of growth than the other three non-premium SUV segments, all of which grew at around 10%. Still, the segment is assured in its utter dominance of the market, and its sales of over 1.5 million in the first half of the year are 36% higher than in the next-largest segments: compact car and large pickup. What’s more, with a raft of new models either already on the market (Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-5, Jeep Compass, Kia Niro) or hitting the market in the next few months (GMC Terrain, Subaru XV Crosstrek, VW Tiguan) it would take a brave person to bet against the segment continuing to thrive in 2017.
European sales 2017-Q1 compact & midsized crossover segments
The midsized crossover segment remains one of the fastest growing segments in Europe, even faster than the small crossover segment at +28% in the first quarter of 2017, to 371.500 sales. The Nissan Qashqai holds on to its top spot, thanks to sales up 13% on its already impressive score last year, but the Volkswagen Tiguan is closing in quickly with a gain of 78% to come within 10.000 sales. Considering the Tiguan outsold the Qashqai in the second half of last year, this is actually a bit of a disappointment for the model, than may suffer from a bit of cannibalization from the Seat Ateca and to a lesser degree the Skoda Kodiaq. In third place we find the Hyundai Tucson, similar to the full year 2016 ranking, but the facelifted Ford Kuga is growing at double its rate and is not far behind in 4th, up from 6th last year.
US sales 2017-Q1 Compact SUV segment
After a 3.9% increase in 2016, sales in the Compact SUV segment pick up steam and improve 9% in the first quarter of 2017, to 742,230 units. This makes it by far the largest segment with a comfortable lead of more than 200,000 sales over the second-largest segment, that of large pickup trucks. It’s also 270,000 sales ahead of the midsized sedan segment, which used to be the biggest segment until 2013. A whole bunch of new or redesigned models will hit the market this year or already have in the first quarter, which should only help the cars in this segment consolidate its position as the family-hauler favorites.
European sales 2016 midsized crossover segment
Sales of midsized crossovers are growing even faster than their smaller rivals, at +26,8% in Q4 and +22% in the full year 2016, compared to +16% for the small crossover segment and +6,2% for the overall market. And while the growth is fueled by newcomers and updated existing models, the segment leader and the model that started the popularity of this segment Nissan Qashqai maintains its leadership of the segment, even though its volume is stable on last year. However, its dominance of the segment will be challenged in 2017, as the new generation Volkswagen Tiguan already outsold its British-Japanese rival in Q4, by 2.600 sales and will fight for the segment lead for the first time ever. In third place we find another relative fresh model: the Hyundai Tucson, knocking down its sibling Kia Sportage off the podium for the first time since 2012.