The large SUV segment is down 3% in the first nine months of 2022 as the segment continues to gain share in Europe, outperforming the overall market down 11%. They now make up 3.2% of the total European car market, up from 2.9% last year. The share of luxury brands in this class slightly rebounds to 84%, from 82.5% in the first three quarters of 2021. And the entire top-10 of the segment consists of luxury models. In the third quarter, the large SUV class was up 9% in an overall market down 2%
The BMW X5 has been the class leader for years and it continues to gain share with sales up 7% year-to-date. Its nearest rivals Mercedes-Benz GLE and Volvo XC90 are down by 17% and 11% respectively. The Audi e-Tron stays ahead of its EV rival BMW iX, but combined with the Sportback version the e-Tron would be in third place. The Land Rover Defender is up 3% in sixth place, just ahead of hte Porsche Cayenne, up 7%. The Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe jumps from #12 to #9 and even outsold the Audi Q8 in the third quarter. The GLE Coupe is therefore closing in on a top-8 finish for the year, as the Range Rover Sport has only just been renewed but deliveries of the new generation may not hit full speed until next year. The Kia Sorento drops out of the top-10 with sales down 36%, while its sibling Hyundai Santa Fe is stable on last year at #13. The Audi Q7 is down 29% at #12 and its sibling Volkswagen Touareg is down 36% at #16. Other models struggling are the Land Rover Discovery, down 25% at #23 and the Ford Explorer, down 61% at #27. Europe has not yet received the new generation of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, as the previous generation is down 72% at #38. In contrast, the Toyota Land Cruiser is up 81% at #17 and the new generation Range Rover more than doubled up in the third quarter to almost make up for losses previously this year.
Among Chinese EVs, the BYD Tang does best at #26, ahead of the Hongqi E-HS9 at #28 and the NIO ES8 at #32. The Bentley Bentayga leads the superluxury SUV category at #30, leapfrogging the Lamborghini Urus at #31. They’re followed by the Aston Martin DBX at #33 and the Rolls Royce Cullinan at #34.
| Large SUV segment | 2022 Q1-Q3 | 2021 Q1-Q3 | Change | 2022 share | 2022-Q3 | Change | |
| 1 | BMW X5 | 36.362 | 34.105 | 7% | 14,2% | 13.761 | 27% |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz GLE | 24.366 | 29.429 | -17% | 9,5% | 7.533 | -20% |
| 3 | Volvo XC90 | 19.359 | 21.685 | -11% | 7,5% | 5.444 | -14% |
| 4 | Audi e-Tron | 15.024 | 16.018 | -6% | 5,9% | 5.048 | -9% |
| 5 | BMW iX | 14.094 | 725 | 1844% | 5,5% | 4.482 | 613% |
| 6 | Land Rover Defender | 12.675 | 12.354 | 3% | 4,9% | 4.141 | 1% |
| 7 | Porsche Cayenne | 12.009 | 11.251 | 7% | 4,7% | 4.154 | 52% |
| 8 | Audi Q8 | 9.084 | 10.572 | -14% | 3,5% | 2.691 | -3% |
| 9 | Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe | 9.022 | 7.794 | 16% | 3,5% | 3.606 | 60% |
| 10 | Range Rover Sport | 8.744 | 14.040 | -38% | 3,4% | 1.513 | -48% |
| 11 | Kia Sorento | 8.558 | 13.442 | -36% | 3,3% | 2.852 | -38% |
| 12 | Audi Q7 | 8.236 | 11.682 | -29% | 3,2% | 2.362 | -26% |
| 13 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 7.489 | 7.592 | -1% | 2,9% | 2.909 | 4% |
| 14 | BMW X6 | 7.468 | 8.121 | -8% | 2,9% | 2.474 | 0% |
| 15 | Audi e-Tron Sportback | 7.171 | 6.930 | 3% | 2,8% | 2.462 | 15% |
| 16 | Volkswagen Touareg | 7.055 | 11.084 | -36% | 2,7% | 1.974 | -19% |
| 17 | Toyota Land Cruiser | 6.524 | 3.595 | 81% | 2,5% | 3.231 | 216% |
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz G-Class | 6.218 | 5.953 | 4% | 2,4% | 1.815 | 18% |
| 19 | Range Rover | 5.670 | 6.191 | -8% | 2,2% | 3.158 | 105% |
| 20 | Toyota Highlander | 4.922 | 5.238 | -6% | 1,9% | 1.770 | -15% |
| 21 | Lexus RX | 4.921 | 4.272 | 15% | 1,9% | 2.133 | 53% |
| 22 | BMW X7 | 3.559 | 3.968 | -10% | 1,4% | 1.133 | 2% |
| 23 | Land Rover Discovery | 3.319 | 4.408 | -25% | 1,3% | 1.417 | 45% |
| 24 | Mercedes-Benz GLS | 3.009 | 3.350 | -10% | 1,2% | 1.087 | -3% |
| 25 | Maserati Levante | 1.860 | 1.836 | 1% | 0,7% | 457 | -22% |
| 26 | BYD Tang | 1.464 | 100 | 1364% | 0,6% | 547 | 447% |
| 27 | Ford Explorer | 1.393 | 3.564 | -61% | 0,5% | 536 | -49% |
| 28 | Hongqi E-HS9 | 1.265 | 0 | New | 0,5% | 286 | New |
| 29 | SsangYong Rexton | 1.251 | 729 | 72% | 0,5% | 469 | 59% |
| 30 | Bentley Bentayga | 1.166 | 815 | 43% | 0,5% | 342 | 13% |
| 31 | Lamborghini Urus | 1.137 | 1.000 | 14% | 0,4% | 311 | 14% |
| 32 | Nio ES8 | 736 | 31 | 2274% | 0,3% | 222 | 666% |
| 33 | Aston Martin DBX | 497 | 549 | -9% | 0,2% | 199 | 14% |
| 34 | Rolls Royce Cullinan | 394 | 211 | 87% | 0,2% | 154 | 130% |
| 35 | Genesis GV80 | 197 | 112 | 76% | 0,1% | 57 | -16% |
| 36 | Dodge Durango | 146 | 349 | -58% | 0,1% | 51 | -61% |
| 37 | Cadillac Escalade | 101 | 37 | 173% | 0,0% | 36 | 80% |
| 38 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 92 | 334 | -72% | 0,0% | 33 | -62% |
| 39 | Tesla Model X | 16 | 493 | -97% | 0,0% | 3 | -98% |
| 40 | Chevrolet Suburban | 13 | 20 | -35% | 0,0% | 5 | -17% |
| 41 | Ford Bronco | 11 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 5 | New |
| 42 | Ford Edge | 4 | 195 | -98% | 0,0% | 1 | -98% |
| 43 | Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero / Shogun | 4 | 0 | – | 0,0% | 3 | – |
| 44 | Chevrolet Tahoe | 3 | 14 | -79% | 0,0% | 0 | -100% |
| 45 | Cadillac XT6 | 3 | 0 | – | 0,0% | 3 | – |
| Segment total | 256.611 | 264.188 | -3% | 86.870 | 9% |
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.