Sales of compact cars in the United States are down by a worrying 16% in 2019, and the segment is down 1.6 percentage points of share of the total US car market, to 9.7%. It now holds 35% of the sedan market in the US, down from 36.8% in 2018. The Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla consolidate their leadership thanks to stable sales while their closest two rivals both see their sales drop by double digits. The Civic and Corolla are now not only the only two nameplates to sell over 300,000 cars each, but also the only ones to sell over 200,000 cars, with the Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Elantra both dropping below that threshold as both are down by 13%. The Civic and Corolla together hold 38% of the compact car segment (39.7% of non-luxury compact cars), up from 32% in 2018. We lose three members of the 100k sales club, as the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze have been killed by their manufacturers and the Kia Forte dropped below that mark despite falling slower than the overall segment. We do welcome a returning member after a 1-year absence with the Jetta back above 100,000 sales again, allowing it to jump from 8th in 2018 to 5th in 2019. [Read more…]
European sales 2019-Q3 Compact car segment
Highlights:
- Segment down 7% YTD, still makes up 13,1% of the European new car market, down 0,8 percentage points.
- VW Golf remains firmly on top despite the changeover to the 8th generation in Q4
- Skoda Octavia outsold the Ford Focus in Q3 but remains #3 YTD
- Opel/Vauxhall Astra and Seat Leon outsold the Peugeot 308 in Q3 and are closing in YTD, Astra leapfrogs Leon for 6th place
- Toyota Corolla was the #4 seller in Q3 and moves up to 8th place YTD with a clear chance of finishing in 7th. Combined sales of the outgoing Toyota Auris and incoming Corolla are already good for a 4th place of the segment
- Mazda3 clearly outsold the Honda Civic in Q3, but seems too far behind YTD
- Skoda Scala so far unable to make up for lost sales of the outgoing Skoda Rapid, despite a 13th place for the former in Q3
- Nissan Leaf outsells Hyundai Ioniq in Q3
- Fiat Tipo is the worst performer in the segment top-10 at -25%, Kia Ceed best performer at +37% but still knocked down to #9 YTD by Corolla.
European sales 2019-H1 Compact car segment
The compact car segment in Europe slows down its decline in the second quarter of 2019, with a loss of 8% to just over 557.000 sales, but is still down 11% for the first half as Europe’s second largest segment now accounts for 13,1% of the total market, down from 14,1% in the first six months of 2018. In both quarters the compact car segment showed lower sales than the small crossover segment (up 11% to 14,2% share of the market) and that makes the small crossovers are now the second largest segment in Europe, pushing the compact cars to #3. At least the overall best selling model still comes from the compact car segment, although the Volkswagen Golf is under threat from the Renault Clio now that a redesigned Mk VIII Golf is on the way and Volkswagen has an internal competitor with the T-Roc. Among compact cars, the Golf is still the dominant leader, even though its share is down by 0,7 percentage points to 20,4%, as it lost 14% of its sales in the first half of 2019. The already renewed Ford Focus is still in 2nd place but its margin over the Skoda Octavia was significantly smaller in Q2 with less than 700 sales separating them. The Focus is the only nameplate in the top-7 to improve its sales.
US sales analysis Q2 2019 – Compacts
Compact segment is heading towards one of its worst year of the past three decades
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Sales in the US Compact segment fell by 15.5% to 821,200 in the first half of 2019. If the segment’s performance turns any more sour, 2019 may mark its biggest sales decline of the past three years, topping the 17% sales decline the segment experienced in 2009. In fact, with few new models on the horizon the segment’s decline appears [Read more…]
European sales 2019-Q1 Compact car segment
The compact car segment in Europe is in faster decline than the overall market in the first quarter of 2019, with a loss of 14% to 528.363 sales, as Europe’s second largest segment now accounts for 13% of the total market, down from 14,3% in Q1 of 2018. That means it is under threat from the small crossover segment (up 11% to 14% share of the market). This is also one of the main reasons for the decline of the compact car segment: customers deflecting to crossovers. Segment best seller Volkswagen Golf is due for a redesign this year and loses 16% of its volume but still holds a commanding lead over its competition. In second place we now find the Ford Focus with sales up 8% thanks to its new generation, outselling the Skoda Octavia by a significant margin and thus ending a two-year period with the VW Group in the top two spots. The last time another manufacturer held a top-2 position in this segment was 2016 when the Opel/Vauxhall Astra was the Golf’s nearest rival, but so far this year the Astra is down into 5th place with sales down 18%. The Peugeot 308 moves up a spot to #4 despite also losing volume, but improves its share of the segment by 0,7 percentage points. The Seat Leon and Renault Megane also do slightly better than the overall segment but are still down by double digits, while the Kia Ceed is up an impressive 35%, helped by the addition of the Sportswagon and ProCeed versions. This moves the Ceed into 8th place, its highest ever ranking in the compact car segment in Europe.
European sales 2018 Compact car segment
Sales of compact cars in Europe declined 9% in 2018 to just over 2,13 million units, as Europe’s second largest segment now accounts for 13,8% of the total market, down from 15,1% in 2017. That means it is under threat from both the small crossover segment (up 29% to 12,6% share of the market) and the compact crossover segment (up 17% to 11,3% of the market). That also explains the main reason for the decline of the compact car segment: customers deflecting to crossovers. Segment leader Volkswagen Golf slightly improves its share of the segment despite an 8% loss of sales, translating to almost 37.000 lost sales which is about as much as the Mazda3 sold last year. In second place we find the Skoda Octavia for the second straight year with sales down 5%, but it still sells less than half the number of cars of its sibling. Despite being replaced at the very end of the year and thus being in run-out mode with the outgoing model, the Ford Focus manages to reclaim a podium position after spending 2 years in fourth place. That is a result of the Opel/Vauxhall Astra losing 27% of its sales in 2018 after already losing 14% in 2017. The Astra was #2 of the segment in 2016, #3 in 2017 and is now down one more spot, and only 5.000 units ahead of 5th place.
US sales analysis 2018 – Compacts
Segment experiences arguably its most drastic sales decline yet
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Sales in the US Compact segment fell by 12.3% to 1,548,650 in 2018, the second sharpest sales decline in the past three decades, less bad only than the 17% sales decline the segment experienced in 2009. The difference is that overall market sales fell by 17.2% in 2009, whereas overall car sales rose in 2018. These two statistics emphasize just [Read more…]
US sales analysis Q2 2018 – Compact segment
Aging Nissan Sentra is the only top 10 model to see sales rise as segment’s decline accelerates
Sales in the US Compact segment fell by 11.7% to 976,19 in the first half of 2018, as the rate of sales decline rose yet again: from the 3.8% decline in 2017 overall, 7.0% in Q4’17, and 10.1% in Q1’18, to 13.1% in the latest quarter. With the new VW Jetta now on sale, the new Ford Focus about to enter the market and a new Toyota Corolla [Read more…]
US sales analysis Q1 2018 – Compact segment
Segment shrinks by over 10% as alternative power models hit new heights
Sales in the Compact segment fell by 10.1% to 464,749 in the first quarter of 2018, a faster rate of decline than the 7.0% the segment experienced in Q4’17, and a much faster one than the 3.8% decline in 2017 overall. It is a sign of just how badly the mainstream segment has been hit of late that this decline still makes the Compact segment [Read more…]
European sales 2017 Compact car segment
Sales of compact cars in Europe declined 2% in 2017 to nearly 2,34 million units after 4% declines in each of the last three quarters. Europe’s second largest segment accounts for 15,1% of the total market, down from 15,8% in 2016. Segment leader Volkswagen Golf is completely on par with the rest of the segment and holds on to its 20,6% share thanks to a facelift in Q2. Its stablemate Skoda Octavia is stable for the year, gaining less than 500 sales but that still means a new volume record for the nameplate, knocking down the Opel/Vauxhall Astra which was down 35% in Q3 after a 28% decline in Q3. Like the Corsa in the subcompact segment, the Astra suffers from Opel/Vauxhall’s new owner deciding not to chase volume at all cost as General Motors used to do. This means lower discounts and reduces deliveries to daily rental fleets, leading to a sales shock in the short term but should be beneficial for the brand in the long run. Fourth placed Ford Focus is also stable despite being in the final year of the current generation and despite the overall decline of the UK market, its most important market with a third of its European volume. In the battle of the French, the Renault Megane jumps ahead of the Peugeot 308 to take 5th place, but I´m sure Renault expected more from this new model. [Read more…]
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