The midsized SUV segment in the United States continues to outperform the overall car market with sales up 21% in the first three quarters of 2021. A total of just over 2.3 million units were sold so far this year, giving these family haulers a share of 19.6% of total car sales in the US, up from 18.3% in the first nine months of 2020. In the third quarter, midsized SUV sales were down 5% in an overall market down 13%. In the top-15 best sellers, only one nameplate sees lower sales than on last year.
Due to chip shortages which have affected Ford more than other brands, the Explorer had already dropped from first place after Q1 to third place after Q2, and is even off the podium after Q3, with stable sales on last year. The Toyota Highlander holds on to the top spot it grabbed after the second quarter, the Jeep Grand Cherokee also has its eyes on the prize. In Q3 the Grand Cherokee was the segment top dog by a large margin, outselling the Highlander by almost 18,000 units thanks to the addition of the 3-row Grand Cherokee L. With the regular 2-row GC just arriving in showrooms, it promises to be a blockbuster last quarter for the American icon. Jeep also places the Wrangler on the segment podium thanks to a strong third quarter. Due to supply shortages, the Chevrolet Traverse sold just a third of what we would usually expect from the model in Q3, as a result it drops behind hte Honda Pilot and Toyota 4Runner in the YTD ranking. The Kia Telluride is the best performing model in the top-15 with sales up 52%, distancing its sibling Hyundai Palisade, as both South-Korean models move ahead of the GMC Acadia which also struggles with a lack of supply. The Volkswagen Atlas has already sold almost as many copies as it did in all of 2020, while the Ford Edge and Dodge Durango are losing share of the class. The Toyota Venza celebrates its first anniversary in 17th place, ahead of the Subaru Ascent which is down 14% on last year and is under threat of the Honda Passport. The Nissan Murano is down 12% on last year but manages to stay ahead of the VW Atlas Cross Sport and Buick Enclave. Thanks to the new generation, the Nissan Pathfinder has a strong third quarter in which it outsold the Kia Sorento and Ford Edge, but that’s not enough to fully recover its losses from the first half of the year. The Mazda CX-9 shows a nice improvement on last year. Newcomer Ford Bronco is plagued with launch issues, recalls and supply shortages and is not yet making its mark in 39th place.
The luxury part of the segment makes up 19.6% of total midsized crossover sales, up from 18.9% in the same period of 2020, with sales improving 26% in the first nine months of 2021. The Lexus RX remains ultra dominant, even claiming an overall #9 spot. And with sales up 28%, its gains share of the class. Thanks to sales up almost 50%, the Acura MDX and Mercedes-Benz GLE maintain their #2 and #3 spots among luxury models, but both were outsold in Q3 by the BMW X5. The Volvo XC90 follows at a distance, ahead of the Lexus GX and Audi Q7, the latter of which had a slow third quarter. The Lincoln Aviator leapfrogs its main rival Cadillac XT6 again, while the Genesis GV80 outsells them both in Q3, moving past the Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne. The Rover Defender moves back ahead of the Audi Q8. Due to the imminent model changeover, the Infiniti QX60 is down 75% and the biggest loser of the class.
US midsized SUV sales 2021 – Q1-Q3
| Midsized SUV segment | 2021 – Q1-Q3 | 2020 – Q1-Q3 | Change | 2021 Share | 2020 Share | |
| 1 | Toyota Highlander | 207.564 | 141.301 | 47% | 9,0% | 7,4% |
| 2 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 189.628 | 152.856 | 24% | 8,2% | 8,0% |
| 3 | Jeep Wrangler | 164.710 | 150.202 | 10% | 7,1% | 7,9% |
| 4 | Ford Explorer | 160.174 | 160.209 | 0% | 6,9% | 8,4% |
| 5 | Honda Pilot | 114.667 | 90.002 | 27% | 5,0% | 4,7% |
| 6 | Toyota 4Runner | 105.475 | 86.827 | 21% | 4,6% | 4,6% |
| 7 | Chevrolet Traverse | 94.198 | 84.012 | 12% | 4,1% | 4,4% |
| 8 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 89.656 | 71.176 | 26% | 3,9% | 3,7% |
| 9 | Lexus RX | 84.625 | 66.251 | 28% | 3,7% | 3,5% |
| 10 | Kia Telluride | 70.724 | 46.615 | 52% | 3,1% | 2,4% |
| 11 | Hyundai Palisade | 64.673 | 59.827 | 8% | 2,8% | 3,1% |
| 12 | Kia Sorento | 62.255 | 60.492 | 3% | 2,7% | 3,2% |
| 13 | Volkswagen Atlas | 57.728 | 39.056 | 48% | 2,5% | 2,0% |
| 14 | GMC Acadia | 55.679 | 51.159 | 9% | 2,4% | 2,7% |
| 15 | Ford Edge | 54.951 | 76.862 | -29% | 2,4% | 4,0% |
| 16 | Dodge Durango | 52.931 | 45.456 | 16% | 2,3% | 2,4% |
| 17 | Toyota Venza | 50.493 | 1.668 | 2927% | 2,2% | 0,1% |
| 18 | Acura MDX | 47.814 | 32.553 | 47% | 2,1% | 1,7% |
| 19 | Mercedes-Benz GLE | 47.579 | 32.160 | 48% | 2,1% | 1,7% |
| 20 | Subaru Ascent | 43.043 | 49.835 | -14% | 1,9% | 2,6% |
| 21 | Honda Passport | 42.014 | 27.665 | 52% | 1,8% | 1,5% |
| 22 | BMW X5 | 41.780 | 31.985 | 31% | 1,8% | 1,7% |
| 23 | Nissan Murano | 39.287 | 44.859 | -12% | 1,7% | 2,4% |
| 24 | Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport | 35.087 | 17.990 | 95% | 1,5% | 0,9% |
| 25 | Buick Enclave | 33.336 | 26.142 | 28% | 1,4% | 1,4% |
| 26 | Volvo XC90 | 30.097 | 22.535 | 34% | 1,3% | 1,2% |
| 27 | Nissan Pathfinder | 28.885 | 37.525 | -23% | 1,3% | 2,0% |
| 28 | Mazda CX-9 | 28.799 | 20.412 | 41% | 1,2% | 1,1% |
| 29 | Lexus GX | 23.859 | 18.577 | 28% | 1,0% | 1,0% |
| 30 | Audi Q7 | 22.341 | 16.783 | 33% | 1,0% | 0,9% |
| 31 | Lincoln Nautilus | 18.176 | 16.052 | 13% | 0,8% | 0,8% |
| 32 | Cadillac XT6 | 17.722 | 15.454 | 15% | 0,8% | 0,8% |
| 33 | Lincoln Aviator | 15.474 | 15.800 | -2% | 0,7% | 0,8% |
| 34 | Genesis GV80 | 15.464 | 0 | New | 0,7% | 0,0% |
| 35 | Porsche Cayenne | 15.108 | 12.153 | 24% | 0,7% | 0,6% |
| 36 | Range Rover Sport | 13.990 | 13.054 | 7% | 0,6% | 0,7% |
| 37 | Land Rover Defender | 12.013 | 1.900 | 532% | 0,5% | 0,1% |
| 38 | Audi Q8 | 11.163 | 7.679 | 45% | 0,5% | 0,4% |
| 39 | Ford Bronco | 10.204 | 0 | New | 0,4% | 0,0% |
| 40 | BMW X6 | 6.675 | 4.447 | 50% | 0,3% | 0,2% |
| 41 | Tesla Model X (est.) | 6.306 | 20.000 | -68% | 0,3% | 1,0% |
| 42 | Mercedes-Benz G-class | 6.236 | 5.166 | 21% | 0,3% | 0,3% |
| 43 | Audi e-tron | 5.448 | 5.168 | 5% | 0,2% | 0,3% |
| 44 | Infiniti QX60 | 4.374 | 17.505 | -75% | 0,2% | 0,9% |
| 45 | Land Rover Discovery | 2.696 | 4.811 | -44% | 0,1% | 0,3% |
| 46 | Infiniti QX70 | 2.043 | 0 | New | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 47 | Audi e-tron Sportback | 1.883 | 313 | 502% | 0,1% | 0,0% |
| 48 | Volkswagen Touareg | 6 | 36 | -83% | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 2.309.033 | 1.907.219 | 21% |
Source: Manufacturers.