In 2020, sales of compact crossovers in the US are down 15% after a 4% decline in the fourth quarter of the year. As this is almost in line with the overall market, the share of the largest segment in the US is down slightly to 23.5%, from 23.8% in 2019. With 43 nameplates, this is also the second largest class in terms of choice for consumers, after midsized SUVs.
The Toyota RAV4 consolidates its leadership and is the best performer in the top-6 with sales down just 4%, improving its share of the class by 1.5 percentage points to 12.5%. The Honda CR-V holds on to its #2 spot and gains a tiny bit of share with sales down 13%, but the Chevrolet Equinox is down 22% and the Nissan Rogue is down 35% as a new generation has only just been launched. The Jeep Wrangler gains share and moves ahead of the Ford Escape, down 26%. This is the slowest year for the Escape since 2009 as the launch of the redesigned model hasn’t been smooth. Consumers don’t seem impressed by the jellybean styling of the new generation, a move Ford probably made to make room for the all-new Bronco Sport as the more rugged, off-road styled model of the pair. In Q4, the Escape was down just 2% on last year. The Subaru Forester and Outback as well as the Mazda CX-5 leapfrog the Jeep Cherokee, down 29%. Its sister model Jeep Compass also loses share and falls behind the Hyundai Tucson, which is due for a redesign in 2021.
The Volkswagen Tiguan gains marekt share and stays ahead of the Chevrolet Blazer in that model’s first full year of sales. It lands just ahead of stablemate GMC Terrain and the Kia Sportage. The Dodge Journey is down 46% in its final year of production. The Buick Envision improves 5% and moves past the Mitsubishi Outlander whose sister model Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross is down by almost half as the worst performing model of the class. The Ford Bronco Sport arrived in December with its first 5,120 deliveries, while we also welcome the first three registrations of the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E.
The luxury part of the segment makes up 13.2% of total compact crossover sales in 2020, stable on last year. For the third time this year we have a different podium. There have been three different class leaders this year, with the Mercedes-Benz GLC starting the year strong, before relegating its top spot to the Acura RDX. But a strong fourth quarter puts the BMW X3 back on top of the ranking for the year, despite a 15% drop in sales. The Lexus NX topples its Japanese rival off second place with sales down 5%, leaving the RDX in third place, only barely ahead of the GLC. The Audi Q5 is not far behind either, thanks to sales up 15% in Q4, helped by the Sportback crossover-coupe version. The Cadillac XT5 struggles at -29% and sees the Volvo XC60 catching up. The Lincoln Corsair is up 2% and stays ahead of the Infiniti QX50 which passes the Porsche Macan. The Range Rover Velar and Jaguar F-Pace lose share, while the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is up 9% on 2019. The Tesla Model Y lands with its first (estimated) 10,000 sales, ahead of the Land Rover Discovery Sport and BMW X4.
US compact crossover sales 2020
| Compact SUV segment | 2020 | 2019 | Change | Share | Share | |
| 1 | Toyota RAV4 | 430.387 | 448.068 | -4% | 12,5% | 11,0% |
| 2 | Honda CR-V | 333.502 | 384.168 | -13% | 9,7% | 9,5% |
| 3 | Chevrolet Equinox | 270.994 | 346.048 | -22% | 7,9% | 8,5% |
| 4 | Nissan Rogue | 227.935 | 350.447 | -35% | 6,6% | 8,6% |
| 5 | Jeep Wrangler | 201.311 | 228.042 | -12% | 5,9% | 5,6% |
| 6 | Ford Escape | 178.496 | 241.388 | -26% | 5,2% | 5,9% |
| 7 | Subaru Forester | 176.996 | 180.179 | -2% | 5,1% | 4,4% |
| 8 | Subaru Outback | 153.290 | 181.178 | -15% | 10,2% | 9,4% |
| 9 | Mazda CX-5 | 146.420 | 154.543 | -5% | 4,3% | 3,8% |
| 10 | Jeep Cherokee | 135.855 | 191.397 | -29% | 4,0% | 4,7% |
| 11 | Hyundai Tucson | 123.657 | 137.381 | -10% | 3,6% | 3,4% |
| 12 | Jeep Compass | 107.969 | 143.934 | -25% | 3,1% | 3,5% |
| 13 | Volkswagen Tiguan L | 100.687 | 109.572 | -8% | 2,9% | 2,7% |
| 14 | Chevrolet Blazer | 94.599 | 58.115 | 63% | 2,8% | 1,4% |
| 15 | GMC Terrain | 86.020 | 101.470 | -15% | 2,5% | 2,5% |
| 16 | Kia Sportage | 84.343 | 89.278 | -6% | 2,5% | 2,2% |
| 17 | BMW X3 | 59.941 | 70.110 | -15% | 1,7% | 1,7% |
| 18 | Lexus NX | 55.784 | 58.715 | -5% | 1,6% | 1,4% |
| 19 | Acura RDX | 52.785 | 62.876 | -16% | 1,5% | 1,5% |
| 20 | Mercedes-Benz GLC | 52.626 | 73.655 | -29% | 1,5% | 1,8% |
| 21 | Audi Q5 | 50.435 | 67.516 | -25% | 1,5% | 1,7% |
| 22 | Dodge Journey | 40.342 | 74.686 | -46% | 1,2% | 1,8% |
| 23 | Cadillac XT5 | 35.223 | 49.879 | -29% | 1,0% | 1,2% |
| 24 | Buick Envision | 34.942 | 33.229 | 5% | 1,0% | 0,8% |
| 25 | Volvo XC60 | 32.078 | 30.578 | 5% | 0,9% | 0,8% |
| 26 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 29.096 | 40.775 | -29% | 0,8% | 1,0% |
| 27 | Lincoln Corsair/MKC | 26.227 | 25.815 | 2% | 0,8% | 0,6% |
| 28 | Infiniti QX50 | 20.885 | 18.616 | 12% | 0,6% | 0,5% |
| 29 | Porsche Macan | 18.631 | 22.667 | -18% | 0,5% | 0,6% |
| 30 | Range Rover Velar | 12.817 | 17.087 | -25% | 0,4% | 0,4% |
| 31 | Jaguar F-Pace | 10.892 | 15.491 | -30% | 0,3% | 0,4% |
| 32 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 10.319 | 19.661 | -48% | 0,3% | 0,5% |
| 33 | Alfa Romeo Stelvio | 10.284 | 9.444 | 9% | 0,3% | 0,2% |
| 34 | Tesla Model Y | 10.000 | 0 | New | 0,3% | 0,0% |
| 35 | Land Rover Discovery Sport | 7.759 | 12.337 | -37% | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 36 | BMW X4 | 7.677 | 8.758 | -12% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 37 | Ford Bronco Sport | 5.120 | 0 | New | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 38 | Jaguar I-Pace | 1.946 | 2.594 | -25% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 39 | Lincoln MKT | 329 | 3.388 | -90% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| 40 | Hyundai Nexo | 208 | 267 | -22% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 41 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 22 | 391 | -94% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 42 | Jeep Patriot | 3 | 27 | -89% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| 43 | Ford Mustang Mach E | 3 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 3.438.835 | 4.063.770 | -15% |
Source: Manufacturers.