With a 4% increase in sales, the small crossover segment is the best performing segment of the US in the first three quarters of 2020, and in fact the only class already back in the black so far this year. Q3 sales were up 16%, helped by five all-new nameplates entering the segment. Despite the year-over-year improvement, the small crossover still make up just 5.7% of the US car market, up from 4.5% in 2019, but new entrants continue to be launched and the class is set to continue to draw customers away from small and compact cars.
The Chevrolet Trax consolidates its lead of the class as the best performing nameplate in the top-7, together with the #3 Hyundai Kona, as both score a 4% loss so far this year. However, the Trax sas the wiorst performer in the top-6 in Q3 with sales down 21% while the Kona was up 22% and the Honda HR-V down just 1% (-12% YTD). The Ford EcoSport holds on to its #4 spot despite being outsold by the Nissan Kicks and Jeep Renegade in Q3. Biggest loser in the segment is the Trax’s cousin Buick Encore as it feels cannibalization from the Encore GX which outsold it in Q3 and moves up to 9th place YTD (#7 in Q3). The Encore GX has a Chevrolet clone as well in the Trailblazer, which took a 10th place in Q3 and moves up to #12 year-to-date. But the best seling newcomer so far this year is the Kia Seltos at #8, although the new Buick may steal that title by the end of the year. Next newcomer is the Hyundai Venue in 17th place, already ahead of the Mazda CX-3 which is being knocked out by the new and slightly larger CX-30.
The luxury part of the segment makes up 21.9% of total small crossover sales in the US so far in 2020, up from 20.4% in the first nine months of 2019. The Mercedes-Benz GLB holds on to its top spot year-to-date, but it was outsold by the Audi Q3 in the third quarter, but the class leader in this quarter was the Mercedes-Benz GLA. The latter has just been renewed and almost doubled its Q3 sales year-on-year and passes the Volvo XC40 and Cadillac CT4 in the year-to-date ranking. The XT4 sees its sales fall by a third this year and loses 1.5 percentage poinst of share in the segment. The Lexus UX returns to the black thanks to a relatively strong third quarter and distances the BMW X1, while the Range Rover Evoque loses its 22% gain from the first half and is now stable after nine months. The Mini Countryman is the big loser among luxury nameplates with a 43% loss but it still passes the BMW X2 in the ranking. The Jaguar E-Pace remains a niche player in the segment with a share of just 0.5%.
US small crossover sales 2020 Q1-Q3
| Small SUV segment | 2020 | 2019 | Change | Share | |
| 1 | Chevrolet Trax | 80.193 | 83.777 | -4% | 13,6% |
| 2 | Honda HR-V | 61.799 | 70.314 | -12% | 10,5% |
| 3 | Hyundai Kona | 52.813 | 55.138 | -4% | 9,0% |
| 4 | Ford EcoSport | 47.200 | 50.657 | -7% | 8,0% |
| 5 | Jeep Renegade | 45.820 | 57.270 | -20% | 7,8% |
| 6 | Nissan Kicks | 42.640 | 47.074 | -9% | 7,2% |
| 7 | Buick Encore | 35.414 | 73.905 | -52% | 6,0% |
| 8 | Kia Seltos | 29.509 | 0 | New | 5,0% |
| 9 | Buick Ecore GX | 27.876 | 0 | New | 4,7% |
| 10 | Mercedes-Benz GLB | 18.709 | 0 | New | 9,4% |
| 11 | Audi Q3 | 17.300 | 6.087 | 184% | 2,9% |
| 12 | Chevrolet TrailBlazer | 17.024 | 0 | #DIV/0! | 2,9% |
| 13 | Mercedes-Benz GLA | 16.509 | 15.131 | 9% | 2,8% |
| 14 | Volvo XC40 | 15.580 | 13.223 | 18% | 2,6% |
| 15 | Cadillac XT4 | 15.485 | 23.092 | -33% | 2,6% |
| 16 | Lexus UX | 12.117 | 11.991 | New | 2,1% |
| 17 | Hyundai Venue | 11.964 | 0 | New | 2,0% |
| 18 | BMW X1 | 10.083 | 12.673 | -20% | 1,7% |
| 19 | Range Rover Evoque | 7.911 | 7.887 | 0% | 1,3% |
| 20 | Mazda CX-3 | 7.012 | 11.780 | -40% | 1,2% |
| 21 | Mini Countryman | 6.330 | 11.012 | -43% | 1,1% |
| 22 | BMW X2 | 5.806 | 8.335 | -30% | 1,0% |
| 23 | Jaguar E-Pace | 2.796 | 3.419 | -18% | 0,5% |
| 24 | Fiat 500X | 1.130 | 2.076 | -46% | 0,2% |
| 25 | Infiniti QX30 | 146 | 3.025 | -95% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 589.166 | 567.866 | 4% |
Source: Manufacturers.