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…]
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…]
Growing demand for hybrid versions of conventional models helps segment grow despite collapse in Prius sales
Sales of hybrid vehicles rose by 2.6% to 90,377 in the fourth quarter of 2017, while overall sales in 2017 rose by 12.4% to 368,137. Hybrid vehicles remain the most popular from among the three types of green cars by far, selling more than double the volume of the other two types: PHEV and EV. Perhaps unsurprisingly given its size, the growth [Read more…]
Segment continues to shrink, hitting a six-year low, though the decline is still modest by mainstream standards
Sales in the US compact segment fell by 7.0% to 486,244 in the fourth quarter of 2017, the fastest rate of decline the segment has experienced in the past year. For 2017 as a whole, the segment shrank by 3.8% to 2,164,507, the lowest level in six years, as customers keep leaving for crossovers. Still, the segment can take some comfort [Read more…]
Two weeks before the Detroit Auto show Honda has revealed the third-generation Honda Insight, and even though the model is still described as “Prototype” I think it’s fair to say it is pretty much exactly the car consumers will be able to buy before long. Prototype or not, the immediate question that comes to mind is whether Honda has finally [Read more…]
The compact car segment in Europe showed a 4% decline in sales in the third quarter of 2017 as it did in the second quarter as well, which means the year-to-date figure is down 1% the same period last year. Just over 1,8 million compact cars were sold in the first nine months of 2017. Segment leader Volkswagen Golf is back into positive territory with a gain of 6% in Q3 but is still down by 6% year-to-date. It still sells more double the figure of the #2 player in the segment as the Opel/Vauxhall Astra was lost a horrid 28% in Q3 and was down to fourth place this quarter. If it proves unable to turn its fate around, the VW Group looks set to grab the top-2 spots for the first time ever with the Skoda Octavia moving up to second place. The aging Ford Focus lost 3% in Q3 but will be replaced in 2018 so in fact its 1% decline so far this year is actually pretty impressive considering most of its rivals are much fresher. [Read more…]
Compact segment continues its slow decline
The compact segment continued its slow decline, with sales falling by 2% in the third quarter of 2017. So far this year sales have declined by 3.4% to 1,709,103, which may not be great, but it has allowed the segment to open a commanding lead of almost 200,000 units compared to the mid-sized segment, with which it was pretty much even this time last year. While there aren’t any new models that will hit the market in the next half a year, the segment may yet bounce up as the period after that promises a lot of new metal: Ford Focus and VW Jetta are about to be replaced, while a new Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla are likely to be not far behind. In the meantime, there is a lot of excitement about the alternative power cars of compact size, with the new electric Chevrolet Bolt and the PHEV Toyota Prius Prime in particular starting to make a meaningful dent in the sales figures.
The compact car segment in Europe showed a 4% in sales in the second quarter of 2017, which means the first half figure is stable on that of the same period last year. At 15,2% of the total market with over 1,27 million sales, the compact segment is the second-largest segment in Europe after the subcompact segment. Segment leader Volkswagen Golf loses 2,5 percentage points of share but still sells more than the #3 and #4 of the segment combined and the gap to the #2 is still more than 100.000 sales. One of the reasons for its 12% loss is the recent facelift which hurt availability, but it also suffers from in-house competitions from crossovers like the new generation Tiguan, Seat Ateca and perhaps even the Skoda Kodiaq. Coincidentally with its shift from GM to PSA, the Opel/Vauxhall Astra starts to slip with a 7% decline in Q2, although it’s still in the black for the first half. The battle for 3rd place remains close, but the recently facelifted Skoda Octavia outsold the aging Ford Focus by 5.800 sales in Q2 to edge out a narrow lead to reclaim 3rd place. The new generation Focus won’t arrive until next year, so the Octavia is expected to finish the year on the podium for the second year in a row. [Read more…]
Compact segment lost more than 11%, as only 4 out of top-10 improve
The Compact Car segment accelerates its decline with a 14% loss in Q2 of 2017, which leads to a 11% decline in the first half to 1,704,812 sales. This is still the lowest decline of all mainstream sedan segments. The top-3 players, the Japanese elephants in the room, which take a combined 26.6% share of the segment, all improve their share of the segment as they fall with just single digits. There are two more models to sell over 100,000 units in the first half: the Chevrolet Cruze and the Hyundai Elantra, while the Ford Focus dips below that threshold. Two electrified newcomers are off to a shy start.
Sales of compact carsin Europe increased 4% in the first quarter of 2017, half the growth of the overall market at +7,8%. Total volume of the segment was just over 636.000 sales, which means it remains the second-largest segment in Europe. Segment leader Volkswagen Golf is in trouble with a loss of 11% as it has just been facelifted but also feels some in-house competition from the new generation Tiguan, and possibly even from the Seat Ateca crossover. The new generation Opel/Vauxhall Astra continues to outperform the segment, but is still way too far behind to even remotely threaten the Golf’s domination. Like the Fiesta one segment down, the Ford Focus traditionally has a good start of the year thanks to its popularity in the UK, but its 7% gain is nonetheless impressive considering it is one of the oldest models in the top-6.