Sales of midsized cars have rebounded hard in 2015 from over a decade of losses to add over 100.000 units of volume in 2015, an increase of 20% to 619.474 sales. That’s still just over a third of the almost 1,8 million non-premium midsized cars sold in 2001. Two renewed models carry all of the segment increase: the Volkswagen Passat and the Ford Mondeo. The Passat adds almost half to its 2014 volume to take 36,5% share of the segment. It is the only model in the segment above 200.000 sales, and even the only model above 100.000 sales for that matter. Its closest competitor Opel/Vauxhall Insignia drops 4%, which is not too bad considering there are now two fresher competitors around. The biggest winner of the segment is the Mondeo, but that’s not so hard if you consider how deep it had fallen while customers were waiting for the new generation to arrive, 2 years late. Even then, it took the Ford until December to finally outsell the Insignia, and I’m afraid the very evolutionary styling compared to the outgoing model is to blame for that. The Mondeo just too much like the old one in my opinion, especially 3/4 from the rear. [Read more…]
European sales 2015 Q1-Q3 Midsize segment
The European midsized car segment keeps outpacing the market in 2015, growing at almost twice the rate of the rest of the car market, but keep in mind this is a segment that has been declining for a long time already. Unsurprisingly, the Volkswagen Passat tightens its stranglehold of the segment by increasing its share to 35,8%, meaning more than one in three midsized cars sold in Europe bear the VW logo. This is the highest segment share of any model in the European mainstream segments.
In Q3, the all-new Ford Mondeo is still way underperforming on its expectations, as it’s still being outsold by the 7-year old Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. So far this year, the only month the Mondeo outsold the Insignia was July, by a mere 214 units. It probably doesn’t help that it took Ford more than two years to launch the model in Europe and that it looks a lot like the outgoing model, especially from the rear 3/4, although the Passat proves that that doesn’t have to translate into slower sales. [Read more…]
European sales 2015 first half Midsize segment
Sales of midsized car in Europe are back up thanks to the new generations of two important players. With an increase of 12% in the first half, the segment recovers from its record low in 2014, and its growth even outpaces the overall market. However, the love isn’t shared evenly, as only 6 out of 19 models (not counting the already killed models: 6 out of 16) show a year-over-year increase. And the new generation Volkswagen Passat accounts for more than 30.000 of the 33.600 additional sales for the entire segment. So with the all-new Ford Mondeo also adding almost 15.000 sales, the picture for most other models is still quite bleak.
Despite being all-new (for Europe, that is. It’s been on sale in the US for over 2,5 years already), and despite sales up more than 50%, the Ford Mondeo hasn’t been able to outsell the 7-year old Opel/Vauxhall Insignia even a single month this year. It the Passat has still outsold it by a 2,5 : 1 margin every single month but March. So it’s safe to say European midsized car buyers are yet to be impressed by the new Mondeo. The previous model sold twice as many times in 2008 and the generation before it again twice as many in 1999. Of course, the segment as a whole was much bigger at that time, but Ford can be glad they’re selling the same car in the US and China as well now, so they can still gain economies of scale. Or perhaps the fact that it’s no longer a European design, but a world-car instead has something to do with the lack of interest in the new generation? [Read more…]
European sales 2015-Q1 Midsize segment
The midsized car segment is slowly recovering from its deep crisis after a record low sales last year, and at +10% even grows slightly faster than the overall market at +8,3%. For the most part, this is the result of the new generations of two of the segment’s best selling nameplates, as most of the other models still suffer large volume declines.
The traditional leader Volkswagen Passat tightens its stranglehold on the segment, with more than one in every three cars sold in this segment being the new generation Passat. The model sells more than double of its nearest competitor, the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, down 3%.
In third place and second-fastest growing model in the top-10 is the all-new Ford Mondeo. Well, technically not all-new since it’s been on sale as the Ford Fusion in the US for almost three years already. But it is a new generation Mondeo for Europe and it adds more than a third to last year’s record low volume for the model, surpassing both the recently facelifted Peugeot 508 and the Skoda Superb. [Read more…]
European sales 2014 Midsize segment
The European midsized car segment is the fastest declining segment in the market, contracting 8% in 2014 to the lowest figure ever and down more than 50% on as recent as 2007. Only four out of 21 models managed to increase year-over-year sales, and if the fact that the top-3 models now account for over 55% of segment sales isn’t enough as a sign of the segment’s defragmentation, no less than 7 nameplates are either already out of production or will be pulled from the market without a replacement soon: Honda Accord, Opel/Vauxhall Ampera, Renault Latitude, Chevrolet Malibu, Suzuki Kizashi, Seat Exeo and Chevrolet Volt.
That doesn’t mean the segment is officially dead, as there are also 8 new or facelifted models due in showrooms this year, while the new generations Volkswagen Passat and Ford Mondeo have just started customer deliveries. As a result, the midsize segment should be able to return to growth in 2015, making it the second time to do so since 2001. [Read more…]
European sales 2014 January – September Midsize segment
The midsized segment has been in crisis for a decade now, but the sales decline seems to bottom out, with sales down “only” 5% after the first three quarters of 2014, to just over 400.000 units. With the new generations VW Passat and Ford Mondeo ready to start their customer deliveries, and the Peugeot 508 recently facelifted, the segment should be able to return to positive territory for only the second time since 2001. The VW Passat remains stable and increases its share of the segment to 28,8%, and that’s even without the new generation, which has only just entered European showrooms and should start customer deliveries anytime now.
The top-4 are the only models in the segment to increase their sales and now control almost two thirds of the segment, indicating a further defragmentation of the market. The Honda Accord is the latest victim of this increased monotony in the midsized car segment, as it won’t be replaced at the end of its life cycle, joining the Suzuki Kizashi, Seat Exeo, Chevrolet Malibu on their way to the happy hunting grounds. [Read more…]
Crisis in the midsized car segment, part 1: How bad is it?
The midsized car segment in Europe has been in a deep crisis for over a decade, but the bottom of the steep slope appears to be in sight. After total segment sales of premium and non-premium models had dropped from a high of over 2.7 million vehicles in 2001 to less than 1.2 million in 2013, the decline seems to have stabilized in 2014 with sales year to date down less than 0,2% on last year.
The decline is not evenly shared among premium and non-premium models. In fact, non-premium models outsold their premium rivals by at least a 2-to-1 ratio until the year 2000, but especially the German Big 3 have made great inroads ever since. As a result of this strong performance, in 2013 for the first time ever, premium midsized cars outsold their non-premium rivals in Europe and they’re taking an even greater lead in 2014.
BMW is the big winner of the segment, as the 3-series increased its share of the segment from 11,7% ten years ago to 19,5% this year (including the 4-series). Audi and Volkswagen shares also grew by 5 percentage points or more with their A4, A5 and Passat (including CC), followed by Volvo thanks to the success of the S60 and V60, Skoda’s Superb and Mercedes-Benz with the C-Class. Besides VW and Skoda, the only other non-premium automaker to increase its segment share is Hyundai-Kia, although the i40 and Optima remain niche players with a combined share of 2,6%, or less than 2.500 units per month.
All other mainstream brands have either lost more than half of their volume in the segment, abandoned the segment or have disappeared from the market altogether. [Read more…]
European sales 2014 first half midsize segment
European sales in the midsized segment have declined further in the second quarter of 2014 to show a loss of 5% over the first half. The Volkswagen Passat shows a smaller decline than the overall segment, even though its new generation has already been introduced to the press and will hit showrooms in the last quarter of this year.
Of only five models increasing their sales on last year, the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia is the fastest growing with sales up over one third thanks to a facelift and modernized engines. The second fastest gainer is the Skoda Superb, which also has been updated recently, and which could repeat the remarkable performance of its smaller sibling Skoda in the compact segment by ending the year on the podium of the midsize segment. It’s already leapfrogged the Peugeot 508 into fourth position and has its sights set on the Ford Mondeo.
Belgian production of the current generation Mondeo has already ended in July. After the summer break, Ford will start production of the new generation Mondeo in Spain, but that model won’t hit showrooms until December, leaving it vulnerable to be passed by the Skoda Superb. [Read more…]
European sales 2014-Q1 midsize segment
Sales of midsized cars in Europe are down slightly again in the first quarter of 2014, after declining already 22% in the full year 2013. No change at the top, with the Volkswagen Passat still firm in the lead, although no longer selling twice as much as the number two of the segment.
In fact, the new generation Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, helped by more fuel efficient engines, is the second fastest improving model of the segment, right behind the venerable Ford Mondeo. The outgoing Mondeo is in sell-out mode to prepare for the arrival of the new generation, at last. That model has been on sale in the United States as the Ford Fusion since 2012, but the European market introduction was delayed due to the closure of the Ford Factory in Gent, Belgium and the subsequent migration of the production to Valencia in Spain. [Read more…]
European sales 2013 midsize segment
The midsize segment in Europe as a whole saw a sharp decline of 22% in 2013, as a result of a clear shift towards premium models in this segment. In fact, if we would combine the premium midsize with this segment, BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-class would hold the 1st, 3rd and 4th place of the combined segment respectively. However, the premium midsized models have not been spared in 2013, as their segment declined as well, although slower than their non-premium rivals, at -8%.
Only one midsized car has been able to sell more units in 2013 than in 2012, the Mazda6 has its new generation to thank for that. All other models show double digit declines, leaving the segment ranking relatively stable. No changes at the top, where the Volkswagen Passat is still by far the leader, selling more than twice as many cars as the number two of the segment, just like the Golf does in the compact segment.
The smallest declines in the top 5 are from models that have been facelifted in 2013, the Skoda Superb and the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. The latter is most popular in the UK, as almost 37% of all Insignia’s are sold with a Vauxhall badge. [Read more…]