Sales in the Mid-sized SUV segment grew by 2 percent in the second quarter of the year, slightly slower than the 4 percent growth in the first quarter of the year, for a total of 868,715 cars in the first half of 2016. With such sales figures the segment finds itself in a bit of a no man’s land between the likes of Large and Minivan segments (both around 300,000 units over the half year) and segments like Compact or Large Pickup (both with slightly over a million units over the time period). However, if the Compact segment continues shrinking as it has been recently (down 6 percent in the first half of 2016), than the Mid-sized SUV sector will catch it sooner rather than later.
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Highlights for first half of 2016:
- Ford Explorer continues in its undisputed position as segment-leader, helped no doubt by sales to police departments around the country (just like Ford Taurus, and Chevy Impala)
- Jeep Grand Cherokee picked up sales despite entering its fifth year on the market (sales up 8 percent compared to first half of 2015), much like its Dodge Durango cousin (sales up 26 percent)
- Honda Pilot, GMC Acadia and Mazda CX-9 all lost volume due to a model handover (sales were down 10, 22 and 60 percent, respectively), while sales of Chevy Traverse were 11 percent down in anticipation of the new model being revealed soon
- Sales of the bold new Nissan Murano rose by 39 percent, mirroring the good performance of the new Nissan Maxima
- The third-fastest growth in the segment came from Toyota 4Runner, at 18 percent, suggesting the model is attracting consumers wanting a traditional body-on-frame model, after Nissan X-Terra and Toyota FJ Cruiser exited the market