Sales of midsized SUVs in the US outperform the overall passenger car market at -9% in the first three quarters of 2022. With just nearly 2.1 million deliveries, midsized crossovers now make up 20.5% of the market, up 0.8 percentage points on the same period last year. In Q3, the class was down 2% in an overall stable market.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee retook the class lead last year and started 2022 on top in the first half. However, the new generation is running out of breath with a 53% drop in the third quarter, when it was only the #4 player in the class. Year-to-date, the Grand Cherokee still leads but no longer comfortably, and it’s down 9% on last year. Best seller in Q3 was the Ford Explorer up 27%, followed by the Jeep Wrangler up 4%. The Toyota Highlander was third in Q3 at -26% but holds on to second place year-to-date. The Toyota 4Runner is starting to show its age at -25% in Q3 and -11% so far in 2022. In the third quarter, the 4Runner is outsold by its new rival Ford Bronco by 5,200 deliveries, so this will be a race to watch by the end of the year. The Hyundai Santa Fe is up 6% but its sibling Kia Sorento is up 83%. Still, the former is down 4% YTD at #7 while the latter is up 4% at #13. Their slightly larger siblings Kia Terlluride and Hyundai Palisade are relatively stable, and so is the Subaru Ascent. In contrast, the Chevrolet Traverse, Volkswagen Atlas, Dodge Durango and GMC Acadia all recover from a horrid 2021-Q3 but are still each down by about a quarter or more YTD while the Honda Pilot and Passport are struggling with supplies. The Toyota Venza at #26 is already taking huge hits despite being not so long on the market.
Luxury midsized SUVs are down 5%, which means their share of the segment growst just over 20.4%. Best selling luxury model is of course still the Lexus RX with sales down just 5% and up to an overall #8 spot. The BMW X5 is up 68% in Q3 to jump into 2nd place and 15th overall, ahead of the Mercedes-Benz GLE, up 16% for the quarter. As with its mainstream siblings, the Acura MDX is struggling with supplies and loses more than a quarter of its sales in Q3 and a third of its sales YTD. It barely outsold the Volvo XC90 in Q3. The Lexus GX is impressively stable, ahead of the Lincoln Nautilus and Aviator, which were both outsold in the third quarter by the Porsche Cayenne. The Cadillac XT6 still trails its direct rival Aviator, while the Genesis GV80 is closing in on the Audi Q7. The new generation Infiniti QX60 shows there’s still some life in the brand, closing the gap to the Land Rover Defender.
In the luxury EV subsegment, the Tesla Model X is estimated to be still in the lead at #35, ahead of the Audi e-tron at #43, although newcomer BMW iX outsold the e-tron in Q3. The Audi e-tron Sportback remains a niche model, while the Cadillac Lyriq arrives with its first 36 deliveries. All 2023 Model Year Lyriqs are sold out, so it’s just a matter of how quickly can GM deliver them to customers.
US midsized SUV sales 2022 Q1-Q3
| Midsized SUV segment | 2022 Q1-Q3 | 2021 Q1-Q3 | Change | 2022 Share | 2022-Q3 | Change | |
| 1 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 172.545 | 189.628 | -9% | 8,2% | 38.176 | -53% |
| 2 | Toyota Highlander | 164.451 | 207.564 | -21% | 7,8% | 47.048 | -26% |
| 3 | Ford Explorer | 156.243 | 160.174 | -2% | 7,4% | 53.326 | 27% |
| 4 | Jeep Wrangler | 147.156 | 164.710 | -11% | 7,0% | 47.659 | 4% |
| 5 | Toyota 4Runner | 93.419 | 105.475 | -11% | 4,5% | 26.590 | -25% |
| 6 | Ford Bronco | 86.387 | 10.204 | 747% | 4,1% | 31.545 | 235% |
| 7 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 86.129 | 89.656 | -4% | 4,1% | 28.234 | 6% |
| 8 | Lexus RX | 80.299 | 84.625 | -5% | 3,8% | 26.530 | -5% |
| 9 | Honda Pilot | 73.952 | 114.667 | -36% | 3,5% | 27.517 | -28% |
| 10 | Kia Telluride | 72.296 | 70.724 | 2% | 3,4% | 25.403 | 0% |
| 11 | Chevrolet Traverse | 69.694 | 94.198 | -26% | 3,3% | 25.388 | 136% |
| 12 | Ford Edge | 67.623 | 54.951 | 23% | 3,2% | 16.170 | 4% |
| 13 | Kia Sorento | 64.600 | 62.255 | 4% | 3,1% | 25.555 | 83% |
| 14 | Hyundai Palisade | 63.756 | 64.673 | -1% | 3,0% | 20.119 | -5% |
| 15 | BMW X5 | 56.603 | 41.780 | 35% | 2,7% | 21.077 | 68% |
| 16 | Mercedes-Benz GLE | 46.250 | 47.579 | -3% | 2,2% | 13.802 | 16% |
| 17 | Subaru Ascent | 46.022 | 43.043 | 7% | 2,2% | 15.091 | 3% |
| 18 | Volkswagen Atlas | 43.525 | 57.728 | -25% | 2,1% | 16.884 | 24% |
| 19 | Dodge Durango | 39.543 | 52.931 | -25% | 1,9% | 19.104 | 32% |
| 20 | GMC Acadia | 39.072 | 55.679 | -30% | 1,9% | 14.406 | 52% |
| 21 | Nissan Pathfinder | 37.582 | 28.885 | 30% | 1,8% | 13.304 | -13% |
| 22 | Acura MDX | 31.806 | 47.814 | -33% | 1,5% | 8.196 | -26% |
| 23 | Honda Passport | 30.611 | 42.014 | -27% | 1,5% | 10.509 | -31% |
| 24 | Volvo XC90 | 25.281 | 30.097 | -16% | 1,2% | 8.049 | -20% |
| 25 | Mazda CX-9 | 23.469 | 28.799 | -19% | 1,1% | 7.289 | -15% |
| 26 | Toyota Venza | 23.131 | 50.493 | -54% | 1,1% | 4.465 | -70% |
| 27 | Buick Enclave | 22.814 | 33.336 | -32% | 1,1% | 7.904 | 4% |
| 28 | Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 22.674 | 35.087 | -35% | 1,1% | 8.903 | -4% |
| 29 | Lexus GX | 22.466 | 23.859 | -6% | 1,1% | 8.510 | 1% |
| 30 | Nissan Murano | 22.377 | 39.287 | -43% | 1,1% | 5.578 | -55% |
| 31 | Lincoln Nautilus / MKX | 16.797 | 18.176 | -8% | 0,8% | 4.942 | -27% |
| 32 | Lincoln Aviator | 16.696 | 15.474 | 8% | 0,8% | 5.746 | 59% |
| 33 | Porsche Cayenne | 14.583 | 15.108 | -3% | 0,7% | 6.017 | 23% |
| 34 | Cadillac XT6 | 14.392 | 17.722 | -19% | 0,7% | 5.013 | 9% |
| 35 | Tesla Model X (est.) | 14.300 | 7.206 | 98% | 0,7% | 4.000 | 300% |
| 36 | Audi Q7 | 13.335 | 22.341 | -40% | 0,6% | 4.152 | -10% |
| 37 | Genesis GV80 | 12.619 | 15.464 | -18% | 0,6% | 5.014 | -7% |
| 38 | Land Rover Defender | 10.893 | 12.013 | -9% | 0,5% | 3.970 | 7% |
| 39 | Infiniti QX60 | 10.330 | 4.374 | 136% | 0,5% | 4.549 | 6590% |
| 40 | BMW X6 | 9.210 | 6.675 | 38% | 0,4% | 3.811 | 85% |
| 41 | Range Rover Sport | 7.935 | 13.822 | -43% | 0,4% | 1.317 | -65% |
| 42 | Audi Q8 | 6.740 | 11.163 | -40% | 0,3% | 2.533 | 0% |
| 43 | Audi e-tron | 6.358 | 5.448 | 17% | 0,3% | 1.620 | 397% |
| 44 | Mercedes-Benz G-class | 4.547 | 6.236 | -27% | 0,2% | 2.161 | 30% |
| 45 | BMW iX | 3.155 | 0 | New | 0,2% | 1.727 | New |
| 46 | Audi e-tron Sportback | 2.509 | 1.883 | 33% | 0,1% | 629 | 420% |
| 47 | Land Rover Discovery | 1.049 | 2.692 | -61% | 0,1% | 365 | -72% |
| 48 | Cadillac Lyriq | 36 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 36 | New |
| Segment total | 2.097.260 | 2.307.712 | -9% | 679.933 | -2% |
Source: Manufacturers.