The subcompact car segment in Europe was stable at nearly 2,79 million sales in 2018, with sales up by just 800 cars. Europe’s largest segment by volume still accounts for 18% of the total market. The top-3 positions remain the same as they were for the last two years and the top-5 rankings are unchanged from last year. That means the Renault Clio celebrates three years on top of the segment, while it’s due for a redesign in 2019 and its closest two rivals have already been updated last year. As a result, the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta are closing in in the top spot, but have been unable to knock the French model off its throne. The Clio is one of only two models in the top-10 that’s available as a station wagon (together with the Fabia), but that version is expected to be cut for the next generation, so we will see how that influences the fight for the top spot. The Peugeot 208 consolidates its 4th place despite a 5% loss as its closest rival Opel/Vauxhall Corsa is down 7%.
US car sales analysis 2018 – Subcompacts
Segment posts a decline of over 20% for the second consecutive year of 20% plus decline
Sales in the US Subcompact segment fell by 20.7% to 374,518 in 2018, making it the second year in a row that the segment has lost more than 20% of sales. As a result, total sales are now 43% lower than their 2014 peak. Moreover, with no new entrants on the horizon and with many manufacturers debating on whether to even replace [Read more…]
US car sales analysis Q2 2018 – Subcompact segment
Kia Rio is the only model to see its sales rise, as segment once again shrinks by almost 20%
Sales in the US Subcompact segment fell by 18.6% to 203,930 in the first half of 2018, with the segment posting almost identical growth in the second quarter as in the first. With only two models posting positive growth and only two new models on the immediate horizon (the already-revealed new Hyundai Accent, and the Kia Soul), it looks likely [Read more…]
US car sales analysis Q1 2018 – Subcompact segment
Sales of all models fall as segment dips below 100,000 for the first time in over a decade
Sales in the Subcompact segment fell by 18.7% to 99,099 in the first quarter of 2018, declining below the 100,000 level for the first time in over a decade. Given this rate of decline, it is far from clear whether the already-revealed new Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio, or the incoming Kia Soul, will be enough to inject enough new vigor into a segment [Read more…]
European sales 2017 Subcompact car segment
The subcompact car segment in Europe increased by 2% to nearly 2,79 million sales in 2017. Europe’s largest segment by volume still accounts for 18% of the total market, down from 18,1% in 2016. The segment declined by 2% in Q4 as two of the top-3 players were in double digit declines due to model changeovers. This allowed the Renault Clio to extend its pole position to a 50.000 sales lead over the #2. The former traditional best seller Ford Fiesta remains stuck in third place behind the Volkswagen Polo, which was in a lowly 6th place in the fourth quarter even behind the Citroën C3 and Toyota Yaris. The former of these is the big winner in the top-10 thanks to its new generation, topping 200.000 sales for the first time since 2010. Its stablemate Peugeot 208 moved up one spot in the ranking after a strong finish of the year with a 2nd place in Q4, helping it to leapfrog the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa which takes a big hit in the second quarter after PSA took over [Read more…]
US sales analysis Q4 2017 – Subcompact segment
Sales of subcompact cars fall fastest from among all mainstream segments
Sales in the US subcompact segment fell by 23.0% to 104,268 in the fourth quarter of 2017, getting dangerously close to 100,000, a level above which sales have been every quarter in the last decade. For 2017 as a whole, the segment shrank by 20.7% to 480,998, the steepest decline from among all mainstream segments. However, there may be [Read more…]
European sales 2017 Q1-Q3: Subcompact car segment
After a 6% growth rate in the first half of 2017, Europe’s largest segment by volume declines 2% in the third quarter. That brings the year-to-date figure to 2,17 million, up 4% on the same period of 2016. Major culprit of this slowdown in Q3 is the former segment leader Ford Fiesta which suffers a 44% decline in Q3 as it is changing over to the new generation. That has dropped the Fiesta to 9th place in Q3 although it holds on to its third place year-to-date, helped by a 17% decline in Opel/Vauxhall Corsa deliveries as a new generation of that car is long overdue as the Corsa is still based on a platform launched in 2006. The Renault Clio continues to sell strong and is the only model in the top-5 to grow in the third quarter, doing so by 11%. That allows it to stay ahead of the Volkswagen Polo which was running on its last legs as it too has a new generation arriving in Q4. The Peugeot 208 holds on to its 5th place while its sister model Citroën C3 stroms up the charts from #9 last year to #6 thanks to the successful launch of the new generation. However, the C3 was outsold by both the Dacia Sandero and Toyota Yaris in the third quarter. The Sandero keeps going from strength to strength even without any major updates, while the Yaris has recently been facelifted.
US sales Q3 2017: Subcompact segment
All models in the Subcompact segment lose sales except for Toyota iA (néeScion)
Sales in the subcompact segment in the United States continued falling in the third quarter of 2017, dropping from just under half a million in 2016 to 376,213 in the first three quarters of 2017, which is less than the number of minivans sold over the same period. The decline has been pretty consistent so far this year, with the rate of decline ranging between 15% and 25% over the three quarters, and suggests customers are eschewing this segment in favor of subcompact SUVs. It will be interesting whether the new Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio will be able to turn this around once they hit the market, but given the disappointing performance of the new Honda Fit the signs are not very promising.
European sales 2017 first half: Subcompact car segment
The subcompact car segment in Europe grew by 6% in the second quarter of 2017 and a similar rate in the first half. It remains the largest segment in Europe by a large margin, with an 18,6% share of the total market, at almost 1,56 million sales in the half. The segment is very dynamic thanks to a number of new and updated models, with plenty more to come later this year. But some of the existing models also show continued strength. At the top of the ranking, the top-3 is back to how it was for the full year 2016 with the recently facelifted Renault Clio in the lead ahead of the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta. The latter two are about to be replaced by completely new generations and should give the Clio a run for its money if it wants to top the segment for a second consecutive year. The new Fiesta is already in showrooms at the moment this article is published and the Polo won’t be long behind. Big loser in the top-10 is the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa with a loss of 16% in Q2 as its 2014 facelift cannot hide that it’s basically already an 11-year-old design. Unfortunately for the model, its replacement isn’t due until 2019. That replacement will be developed on the PSA platform which also underpins the new Citroën C3.
US sales 2017 first half: Subcompact segment
Subcompact segment lost more than 20%, and only Toyota-branded cars gained any sales
Sales in the subcompact segment in the United States continued falling in the second quarter of 2017, dropping by 250,395 units for the first half of the year. This represents a fall of 20.8% compared to the first half of 2016, the second fastest rate of decline from among the mainstream segments, behind only the minicar segment. Part of the reason is that a lot of the cars in the segment are either about to be replaced (Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio) or are in the second half of their life-cycle (Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris), but really it’s the gradual migration to crossovers that’s the more likely reason of this trend – the subcompact SUV segment grew by 10.6% percent over the same period, and sold more than 200,000 units in half a year for the first time ever.