Sales of compact crossovers are down 18% in the first three quarters of 2020, but improved in Q3 with a 10% decline, compared to a 9.5% decline for the overall market. As a result the largest segment in the US improves its market share to 25.5%, which means that more than one in every four vehicles sold are a compact crossover. The class is also the largest in terms of nameplates, with 45 different models so far in 2020.
The Toyota RAV4 consolidates its leadership and is the best performer in the top-5 with sales down just 7%, improving its share by 1.3 percentage points to 11.4%. The Honda CR-V holds on to its #2 spot and gains a tiny bit of share with sales down 15%, as does the Jeep Wrangler in 5th place, while the next two players are losing share. The Chevrolet Equinox is down 25% and the Nissan Rogue is the worst performer in the top-20 with sales down 39% as it is due for a redesign. The Subaru Forester is one of the few models to actually show an increase in sales in 2020 and distances the Ford Escape, down 23% in Q3, and the Subaru Outback, which slightly recovers from a terrible start of the year with a 6% loss in Q3. The Jeep Cherokee outsold the Mazda CX-5 in the third quarter, and leapfrogs the Hyundai Tucson to enter the segment top-10. Its slightly smaller sibling Jeep Compassis outsold by the Subaru XV in Q3 but stays ahead in the YTD ranking, but the VW Tiguan falls behind the XV now.
The Chevrolet Blazer is stuck in 15th place of the class, distancing the Kia Sportage and GMC Terrain. Further below, the Toyota C-HR saw a 2% gain in deliveries in Q3 but remains in the red for now, while the Dodge Journey loses more than half of its sales as the model will be discontinued this year. The Buick Envision leapfrogs the Mitsubishi Outlander and Outlander Sport and also outsells the Mazda CX-30 in Q3 but not enough to also claim its top-25 spot. After a horrible first half of the year with sales down 40%, the Outlander recovers in Q3 with a gain of 60% to move ahead of its smaller sibling.
The luxury part of the segment makes up 12.3% of total compact crossover sales in the first three quarters of 2020, stable on last year. For the third time this year we have a different podium. The Mercedes-Benz GLC started the year in pole position before dropping to third place after Q2, and now it’s knocked off the podium by the BMW X3 which was the segment best seller in the third quarter. The Acura RDX holds on to its top spot for now, but the race for class leadership looks to remain close until the last month of the year. This leaves the Lexus NX in third place with sales down 10% on last year. Meanwhile, the former class leader GLC lost 39% of its sales in the third quarter and barely outsold the Audi Q5, which is the biggest loser in the segment with sales down 40% (-34% in Q3). Newcomer Tesla Model Y is the best selling domestic luxury compact crossover ahead of the Cadillac XT5 and the Lincoln Corsair. The Volvo XC60 splits these latter two with sales up 8% in the third quarter. The Infiniti QX50 is up for the year and stays ahead of the Porsche Macan and Range Rover Velar. The Alfa Romeo Stelvio outsold the Velar, and the Jaguar F-Pace in Q3.
US compact crossover sales 2020 Q1-Q3
| Compact SUV segment | 2020 | 2019 | Change | Share | |
| 1 | Toyota RAV4 | 302.574 | 324.622 | -7% | 11,4% |
| 2 | Honda CR-V | 237.334 | 280.739 | -15% | 8,9% |
| 3 | Chevrolet Equinox | 191.727 | 253.956 | -25% | 7,2% |
| 4 | Nissan Rogue | 167.401 | 272.300 | -39% | 6,3% |
| 5 | Jeep Wrangler | 150.202 | 176.030 | -15% | 5,7% |
| 6 | Subaru Forester | 134.082 | 131.447 | 2% | 5,0% |
| 7 | Ford Escape | 131.753 | 193.801 | -32% | 5,0% |
| 8 | Subaru Outback | 106.342 | 140.530 | -24% | 9,9% |
| 9 | Mazda CX-5 | 104.277 | 113.700 | -8% | 3,9% |
| 10 | Jeep Cherokee | 97.919 | 149.349 | -34% | 3,7% |
| 11 | Hyundai Tucson | 91.139 | 102.861 | -11% | 3,4% |
| 12 | Jeep Compass | 77.809 | 110.671 | -30% | 2,9% |
| 13 | Subaru Crosstrek | 76.924 | 98.497 | -22% | 2,9% |
| 14 | Volkswagen Tiguan L | 75.563 | 84.918 | -11% | 2,8% |
| 15 | Chevrolet Blazer | 71.356 | 35.107 | 103% | 2,7% |
| 16 | Kia Sportage | 62.400 | 65.104 | -4% | 2,3% |
| 17 | GMC Terrain | 60.544 | 73.410 | -18% | 2,3% |
| 18 | Acura RDX | 37.788 | 44.958 | -16% | 1,4% |
| 19 | BMW X3 | 36.400 | 50.120 | -27% | 1,4% |
| 20 | Lexus NX | 35.929 | 40.074 | -10% | 1,4% |
| 21 | Mercedes-Benz GLC | 33.987 | 52.621 | -35% | 1,3% |
| 22 | Toyota C-HR | 33.604 | 37.777 | -11% | 1,3% |
| 23 | Dodge Journey | 30.750 | 62.396 | -51% | 1,2% |
| 24 | Audi Q5 | 29.370 | 49.136 | -40% | 1,1% |
| 25 | Mazda CX-30 | 27.793 | 0 | New | 1,0% |
| 26 | Buick Envision | 26.468 | 24.849 | 7% | 1,0% |
| 27 | Tesla Model Y | 26.300 | 0 | New | 1,0% |
| 28 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 25.046 | 32.385 | -23% | 0,9% |
| 29 | Mitsubishi Outlander Sport | 24.504 | 26.150 | -6% | 0,9% |
| 30 | Cadillac XT5 | 24.273 | 38.711 | -37% | 0,9% |
| 31 | Volvo XC60 | 20.462 | 22.171 | -8% | 0,8% |
| 32 | Lincoln Corsair/MKC | 18.177 | 18.266 | 0% | 0,7% |
| 33 | Infiniti QX50 | 14.569 | 13.610 | 7% | 0,5% |
| 34 | Kia Niro | 13.232 | 17.962 | -26% | 0,5% |
| 35 | Porsche Macan | 13.207 | 16.191 | -18% | 0,5% |
| 36 | Range Rover Velar | 8.817 | 12.409 | -29% | 0,3% |
| 37 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 8.775 | 15.859 | -45% | 0,3% |
| 38 | Jaguar F-Pace | 7.892 | 10.361 | -24% | 0,3% |
| 39 | Alfa Romeo Stelvio | 6.758 | 6.844 | -1% | 0,3% |
| 40 | Land Rover Discovery Sport | 5.859 | 8.538 | -31% | 0,2% |
| 41 | BMW X4 | 4.781 | 5.834 | -18% | 0,2% |
| 42 | Jaguar I-Pace | 1.546 | 1.842 | -16% | 0,1% |
| 43 | Lincoln MKT | 152 | 3.113 | -95% | 0,0% |
| 44 | Hyundai Nexo | 138 | 197 | -30% | 0,0% |
| 45 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 20 | 378 | -95% | 0,0% |
| 46 | Jeep Patriot | 2 | 21 | -90% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 2.655.945 | 3.219.815 | -18% |
Source: Manufacturers.