The midsized SUV segments outperforms the overall US passenger car market at -9% in the first quarter of 2022. With just over 693,000 deliveries, midsized crossovers now make up 20.9% of the market, up 1.5 percentage point on the same period last year.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee retook the class lead last year and starts 2022 on top as well. Its 36% jump in deliveries, thanks to the new generation and the addition of the 3-row L version helps it distance the Toyota Highlander which is up 3%. The Ford Explorer, the #1 in the first quarter of last year, sees its sales plummet by more than a third as it drops to 4th place, just behind the Jeep Wrangler (-8%). The Wrangler’s rival Toyota 4Runner is down 6% in 5th place while their all-new challenger Ford Bronco is up to #10. The Ford Edge (+ 19%), Hyundai Santa Fe (-10%), Honda Pilot (-24%) and Chevrolet Traverse (-38%) flip their ranking of a year ago, as the former is up to #7 and the latter drops out of the top-10. The Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade show pretty much stable deliveries as both are still at peak capacity, while the Kia Sorento is down 9%. The Subaru Ascent is up 2% to move ahead of the Dodge Durango (-30%). The Toyota Venza loses 20% and the Honda Passport loses 10% but both stay just ahead of the Mazda CX-9, something that can’t be said of the Nissan Murano (-18%), and the GMC Acadia and Volkswagen Atlas, both of which lose more than half of their sales. Thanks to the new generation, the Nissan Pathfinder is up 1% to move ahead of the Buick Enclave (-34%) and Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport (-50%).
Luxury midsized SUVs are down 14%, which means they beat the overall market but trail the segment as a whole. Their share of the class drops to 19.4%, from 20.5% last year. Best selling luxury model is of course still the Lexus RX with sales down just 4% and up to an overall #6 spot. The BMW X5 is up 30% to jump into 2nd place ahead of the Mercedes-Benz GLE, down 4%. That knocks the Acura MDX down into 4th place at -20%. The Lexus GX outperforms at -5%, passing the Volvo XC90, down 17%. The Lincoln Nautilus (-5%) outsells its sibling Aviator (-18%) as both leapfrog the Range Rover Sport (-35%). The Land Rover Defender (-22%) jumps ahead of the Audi Q7 (-49%) and Cadillac XT6 (-37%). The Genesis GV80 has already peaked and is down 26% at #38, just ahead of the BMW X6 (+36%), Porsche Cayenne (-37%) and Infiniti QX60 (-23%).
Among EV midsized SUVs, the Tesla Model X is down 35% in 37th place, still well ahead of the Audi e-Tron, down 42% at #42, the Audi e-Tron Sportback, down 23% at #45 and newcomer BMW iX at #47.
US midsized SUV sales 2022-Q1
| Midsized SUV segment | 2022-Q1 | 2021-Q1 | Change | 2022 Share | 2021 Share | |
| 1 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 75.117 | 55.198 | 36% | 10,8% | 7,2% |
| 2 | Toyota Highlander | 66.026 | 63.831 | 3% | 9,5% | 8,4% |
| 3 | Jeep Wrangler | 45.551 | 49.646 | -8% | 6,6% | 6,5% |
| 4 | Ford Explorer | 42.736 | 65.244 | -34% | 6,2% | 8,6% |
| 5 | Toyota 4Runner | 34.907 | 37.263 | -6% | 5,0% | 4,9% |
| 6 | Lexus RX | 26.795 | 27.941 | -4% | 3,9% | 3,7% |
| 7 | Ford Edge | 26.412 | 22.150 | 19% | 3,8% | 2,9% |
| 8 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 25.582 | 28.570 | -10% | 3,7% | 3,8% |
| 9 | Honda Pilot | 23.989 | 31.451 | -24% | 3,5% | 4,1% |
| 10 | Ford Bronco | 23.573 | 0 | New | 3,4% | 0,0% |
| 11 | Chevrolet Traverse | 23.464 | 38.037 | -38% | 3,4% | 5,0% |
| 12 | Kia Telluride | 22.076 | 21.854 | 1% | 3,2% | 2,9% |
| 13 | Hyundai Palisade | 21.025 | 21.207 | -1% | 3,0% | 2,8% |
| 14 | Kia Sorento | 17.923 | 19.724 | -9% | 2,6% | 2,6% |
| 15 | BMW X5 | 16.477 | 12.700 | 30% | 2,4% | 1,7% |
| 16 | Mercedes-Benz GLE | 15.990 | 16.668 | -4% | 2,3% | 2,2% |
| 17 | Subaru Ascent | 14.698 | 14.473 | 2% | 2,1% | 1,9% |
| 18 | Dodge Durango | 14.349 | 20.560 | -30% | 2,1% | 2,7% |
| 19 | Acura MDX | 13.558 | 16.988 | -20% | 2,0% | 2,2% |
| 20 | Toyota Venza | 10.836 | 13.623 | -20% | 1,6% | 1,8% |
| 21 | Honda Passport | 10.474 | 11.610 | -10% | 1,5% | 1,5% |
| 22 | Mazda CX-9 | 10.463 | 9.386 | 11% | 1,5% | 1,2% |
| 23 | Nissan Murano | 9.403 | 11.523 | -18% | 1,4% | 1,5% |
| 24 | GMC Acadia | 9.336 | 19.956 | -53% | 1,3% | 2,6% |
| 25 | Volkswagen Atlas | 9.046 | 19.218 | -53% | 1,3% | 2,5% |
| 26 | Nissan Pathfinder | 8.975 | 8.905 | 1% | 1,3% | 1,2% |
| 27 | Lexus GX | 7.255 | 7.677 | -5% | 1,0% | 1,0% |
| 28 | Buick Enclave | 7.025 | 10.617 | -34% | 1,0% | 1,4% |
| 29 | Volvo XC90 | 6.949 | 8.334 | -17% | 1,0% | 1,1% |
| 30 | Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 5.688 | 11.302 | -50% | 0,8% | 1,5% |
| 31 | Lincoln Nautilus / MKX | 5.089 | 5.372 | -5% | 0,7% | 0,7% |
| 32 | Lincoln Aviator | 4.967 | 6.086 | -18% | 0,7% | 0,8% |
| 33 | Range Rover Sport | 4.200 | 6.490 | -35% | 0,6% | 0,9% |
| 34 | Land Rover Defender | 4.100 | 5.249 | -22% | 0,6% | 0,7% |
| 35 | Audi Q7 | 3.962 | 7.714 | -49% | 0,6% | 1,0% |
| 36 | Cadillac XT6 | 3.780 | 5.990 | -37% | 0,5% | 0,8% |
| 37 | Tesla Model X (est.) | 3.300 | 5.106 | -35% | 0,5% | 0,7% |
| 38 | Genesis GV80 | 3.259 | 4.432 | -26% | 0,5% | 0,6% |
| 39 | BMW X6 | 2.768 | 2.038 | 36% | 0,4% | 0,3% |
| 40 | Porsche Cayenne | 2.653 | 4.230 | -37% | 0,4% | 0,6% |
| 41 | Infiniti QX60 | 2.536 | 3.315 | -23% | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 42 | Audi e-tron | 2.028 | 3.474 | -42% | 0,3% | 0,5% |
| 43 | Mercedes-Benz G-class | 1.913 | 1.709 | 12% | 0,3% | 0,2% |
| 44 | Audi Q8 | 1.425 | 3.612 | -61% | 0,2% | 0,5% |
| 45 | Audi e-tron Sportback | 652 | 850 | -23% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 46 | Land Rover Discovery | 500 | 290 | 72% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 47 | BMW iX | 347 | 0 | New | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 693.177 | 761.613 | -9% |
Source: Manufacturers.