Sales of compact crossovers in Europe are down 19% in the first quarter of 2020 to just over 455,000 units, which makes this the fourth largest segment at 15% of the total European car market, up from 13.8% in Q1 of 2019 but stable on its share in all of 2019.
After allowing the Volkswagen Tiguan to grab the crown in 2019, the Nissan Qashqai is back at the top of the segment albeit by a slim margin of fewer than 400 sales. And this is based on the assumption that 15% of the reported Tiguan sales are for the 3-row Tiguan Allspace that plays in one segment up. Both top players lose share of the segment, though. In fact, all six of the best sellers among mainstream brands are down by a quarter or more and thus losing share. The Peugeot 3008 holds on to its podium spot ahead of the Toyota C-HR which proves more successful in Europe than in the US, The South Korean players Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage stay ahead of the Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X, while the twins Skoda Karoq and Seat Ateca gain share by outperforming the rest of the class. One of the best performers the Citroën C5 Aircross, up 32% and ahead of the Renault Kadjar which loses 40% of its sales. The Mazda CX30 lands at #15, way ahead of its larger sibling Mazda CX-5, down 55%. Other big losers are the Jeep Compass (#17, -56%) and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross (#24, -47%), while the renewed SsangYong Korando is up 72% but is still at just 0.3% share of the segment.
The luxury part of the segment accounts for 25.9% of compact crossover sales, up from 21.6% in Q1 of 2019 and 22% for the full year 2019. The Audi Q3 storms to the top of the class with sales up 38% thanks to the new generation and the addition of the Q3 Sportback, while last year’s dominant leader BMW X1 drops to third place (#12 overall) with sales down by 24%. That means the Volvo XC40 holds on to its second place (overall #9), improving 17%. The new generation Range Rover Evoque is up 11% and leapfrogs the Mercedes-Benz GLA which is about to be renewed in the second quarter. The BMW X2 is down 26% and barely stays ahead of the DS7 Crossback, strong at just -3%. The Jaguar E-Pace is struggling at -30% with the Lexus UX closing in. Newcomer Mercedes-Benz GLB is the only model in this class with optional 3rd row seating, landing at #25.
| Compact SUV segment | 2020-Q1 | 2019-Q1 | Change | 2020 share | 2019 share | |
| 1 | Nissan Qashqai | 42.691 | 61.440 | -31% | 9,4% | 10,9% |
| 2 | Volkswagen Tiguan (est.) | 42.316 | 56.698 | -25% | 9,3% | 10,1% |
| 3 | Peugeot 3008 | 36.787 | 54.248 | -32% | 8,1% | 9,6% |
| 4 | Toyota C-HR | 28.049 | 37.268 | -25% | 6,2% | 6,6% |
| 5 | Hyundai Tucson | 24.967 | 34.212 | -27% | 5,5% | 6,1% |
| 6 | Audi Q3 | 24.053 | 17.428 | 38% | 5,3% | 3,1% |
| 7 | Kia Sportage | 23.015 | 30.857 | -25% | 5,1% | 5,5% |
| 8 | Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X | 22.651 | 24.197 | -6% | 5,0% | 4,3% |
| 9 | Volvo XC40 | 22.046 | 18.783 | 17% | 4,8% | 3,3% |
| 10 | Skoda Karoq | 21.864 | 25.431 | -14% | 4,8% | 4,5% |
| 11 | Seat Ateca | 21.245 | 24.412 | -13% | 4,7% | 4,3% |
| 12 | BMW X1 | 20.609 | 27.051 | -24% | 4,5% | 4,8% |
| 13 | Citroën C5 Aircross | 17.248 | 13.036 | 32% | 3,8% | 2,3% |
| 14 | Renault Kadjar | 16.187 | 26.796 | -40% | 3,6% | 4,8% |
| 15 | Mazda CX-30 | 13.573 | 0 | New | 3,0% | 0,0% |
| 16 | Range Rover Evoque | 12.977 | 11.639 | 11% | 2,9% | 2,1% |
| 17 | Jeep Compass | 8.773 | 19.999 | -56% | 1,9% | 3,5% |
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz GLA | 8.218 | 18.826 | -56% | 1,8% | 3,3% |
| 19 | Mazda CX-5 | 8.163 | 18.020 | -55% | 1,8% | 3,2% |
| 20 | BMW X2 | 7.903 | 10.744 | -26% | 1,7% | 1,9% |
| 21 | DS7 Crossback | 7.287 | 7.498 | -3% | 1,6% | 1,3% |
| 22 | Jaguar E-Pace | 5.391 | 7.735 | -30% | 1,2% | 1,4% |
| 23 | Lexus UX | 4.854 | 1.524 | 219% | 1,1% | 0,3% |
| 24 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 4.801 | 9.023 | -47% | 1,1% | 1,6% |
| 25 | Mercedes-Benz GLB | 4.554 | 0 | New | 1,0% | 0,0% |
| 26 | Subaru XV | 1.987 | 3.034 | -35% | 0,4% | 0,5% |
| 27 | Jeep Wrangler | 1.483 | 2.012 | -26% | 0,3% | 0,4% |
| 28 | SsangYong Korando | 1.245 | 724 | 72% | 0,3% | 0,1% |
| 29 | DR6 | 179 | 227 | -21% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 30 | Infiniti QX30 | 23 | 288 | -92% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| 31 | MG GS | 0 | 247 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 32 | DR5 | 0 | 105 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 455.139 | 563.502 | -19% |
Car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.