In the first half of 2022, the small crossover class in the United States is down 24% in an overall market down 18% after outperforming the market in recent years and setting record after record. At just over 505,000 deliveries, small crossovers now make up 7.4% of the total US car market, down from 8% in the first half of last year. In Q2, the class was down 28% in an overall market down 21%.
The Honda HR-V manages to hold on to the top spot it claimed in the second half of 2021, thanks to a 7% increase in deliveries compared to the first half of last year, when it was still in 2nd place. However, due to the upcoming model change the HR-V was down 27% in Q2 when it was outsold by the Subaru Crosstrek, up 12% for the quarter and +9% for the half. The two top sellers outsell any other nameplate in the class by 2-to-1. Best of the rest is the Nissan Kicks, despite a 21% loss in the first half, but it was only #6 in Q2 when the Hyundai Kona was on the segment podium. The Kona was down 39% in the quarter and down 36% for the half. The Chevrolet Trailblazer was in 4th place in the second quarter despite a 32% loss. It moves up into the #6 spot for the year so far despite losing almost half of its sales on last year. It still trails the Volkswagen Taos holds on to the 5th place it took in the first quarter. Dropping from 6th place in Q1 to #9 in the half, the Kia Seltos is struggling with a 44% drop in sales in Q2. The Toyota Corolla Cross holds on to 7th place but was outsold in the second quarter by the Mazda CX-30. The top-10 is completed by the Ford EcoSport.
The struggles of the Kona and Seltos mentioned above are somewhat balanced by a very strong showing of the Kia Niro, up almost 49% so far this year, even though it appears to be losing steam with only a 12% gain in Q2. However, most of the nameplates below it are down by 34% of more in that same quarter. Big losers in the class so far in 2022 are the Buick Encore GX at -68%, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport at -64%, Toyota C-HR at -63%, Chevrolet Trax at -56% and its sibling Buick Encore at -49% as well as the Jeep Renegade at -45%.
Luxury brands see their share of the class decline to 11.2%, down from 12.8% in 2021 as their sales are down 34% on last year. Best selling luxury small crossover is still the Audi Q3 at #16 overall, with deliveries down 37%. The Cadillac XT4 is its nearest rival, up 15% to an overall 17th place after more than doubling its deliveries in the second quarter. The Volvo XC40 is down 41% and drops to 19th place and third among luxury players. In the second quarter the Lexus UX, when it was down 59% and outsold by the Mercedes-Benz GLA which is closing in despite a 45% drop for the year so far. The Range Rover Evoque does relatively well in the second quarter at -4% but all other luxury models lose over 60% of their sales, except of course for newcomer Volvo C40 which finds just over 1,400 buyers in Q2.
US small crossover sales 2022-H1
| Small SUV segment | 2022-H1 | 2021-H1 | Change | 2022 Share | 2021 Share | 2022-Q2 | Change | |
| 1 | Honda HR-V | 73.016 | 68.441 | 7% | 14,5% | 10,3% | 30.848 | -27% |
| 2 | Subaru Crosstrek | 70.050 | 64.214 | 9% | 13,9% | 9,7% | 32.587 | 12% |
| 3 | Nissan Kicks | 34.600 | 43.962 | -21% | 6,8% | 6,6% | 14.023 | -28% |
| 4 | Hyundai Kona | 32.787 | 50.996 | -36% | 6,5% | 7,7% | 17.251 | -39% |
| 5 | Volkswagen Taos | 27.955 | 4.939 | 466% | 5,5% | 0,7% | 14.281 | 189% |
| 6 | Chevrolet TrailBlazer | 24.544 | 48.367 | -49% | 4,9% | 7,3% | 15.938 | -32% |
| 7 | Toyota Corolla Cross | 22.315 | 0 | New | 4,4% | 0,0% | 12.158 | New |
| 8 | Mazda CX-30 | 21.727 | 33.904 | -36% | 4,3% | 5,1% | 12.233 | -37% |
| 9 | Kia Seltos | 19.766 | 32.185 | -39% | 3,9% | 4,8% | 8.647 | -44% |
| 10 | Ford EcoSport | 17.924 | 26.304 | -32% | 3,5% | 4,0% | 9.498 | -29% |
| 11 | Kia Niro | 17.666 | 11.817 | 49% | 3,5% | 1,8% | 8.440 | 12% |
| 12 | Jeep Renegade | 17.253 | 31.294 | -45% | 3,4% | 4,7% | 7.263 | -53% |
| 13 | Chevrolet Trax | 15.553 | 35.047 | -56% | 3,1% | 5,3% | 9.752 | -46% |
| 14 | Buick Encore GX | 14.471 | 44.679 | -68% | 2,9% | 6,7% | 9.089 | -65% |
| 15 | Hyundai Venue | 12.651 | 15.050 | -16% | 2,5% | 2,3% | 6.102 | -34% |
| 16 | Audi Q3 | 11.614 | 18.445 | -37% | 2,3% | 2,8% | 6.378 | -35% |
| 17 | Cadillac XT4 | 9.133 | 7.966 | 15% | 1,8% | 1,2% | 5.432 | 116% |
| 18 | Toyota C-HR | 9.080 | 24.443 | -63% | 1,8% | 3,7% | 4.825 | -66% |
| 19 | Volvo XC40 | 8.821 | 14.866 | -41% | 1,7% | 2,2% | 4.834 | -47% |
| 20 | Mitsubishi Outlander Sport | 8.596 | 23.983 | -64% | 1,7% | 3,6% | 4.889 | -43% |
| 21 | Buick Encore | 7.744 | 15.255 | -49% | 1,5% | 2,3% | 5.124 | -43% |
| 22 | Lexus UX | 5.929 | 9.524 | -38% | 1,2% | 1,4% | 2.286 | -59% |
| 23 | Mercedes-Benz GLA | 5.886 | 10.617 | -45% | 1,2% | 1,6% | 3.442 | -34% |
| 24 | Mini Countryman | 4.010 | 5.351 | -25% | 0,8% | 0,8% | 1.013 | -68% |
| 25 | BMW X1 | 3.894 | 10.022 | -61% | 0,8% | 1,5% | 1.691 | -72% |
| 26 | Range Rover Evoque | 2.786 | 3.820 | -27% | 0,6% | 0,6% | 1.286 | -4% |
| 27 | Volvo C40 | 2.051 | 0 | New | 0,4% | 0,0% | 1.427 | New |
| 28 | BMW X2 | 1.565 | 3.367 | -54% | 0,3% | 0,5% | 730 | -64% |
| 29 | Jaguar E-Pace | 968 | 1.470 | -34% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 268 | -69% |
| 30 | Fiat 500X | 578 | 668 | -13% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 245 | -39% |
| 31 | Mazda MX-30 | 316 | 0 | New | 0,1% | 0,0% | 136 | New |
| 32 | Mazda CX-3 | 0 | 4.040 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,6% | 0 | -100% |
| 33 | Infiniti QX30 | 0 | 1 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0 | – |
| Segment total | 505.249 | 665.037 | -24% | 252.116 | -28% |
Source: Manufacturers.