Segment growth accelerates, led by new Volvo XC60 and refreshed Mercedes-Benz GLC
Sales in the US Premium Mid-sized SUV segment rose by 20.8% to 254,723 in the first half of 2018, thanks to growth of almost 25% in the second quarter. In doing so it has officially become the largest Premium SUV segment, overtaking the Premium Large SUV segment. With most of the cars in the segment having made their debut or been refreshed in the past two years, this may actually be the youngest segment – so much so that the segment-leading Mercedes-Benz GLC and Cadillac XT5 are starting to look (relatively) long in the tooth.
Highlights
- Mercedes-Benz GLC continued its remarkable growth, seeing sales rise by 75% in the second quarter, and maintaining a healthy lead over Cadillac XT5
- Compared to the rest of the segment, the models ranked 2nd through 4th had rather unremarkable single-digit growth in the second quarter, although this was still enough for the new Audi Q5 to overtake Lexus NX for third in the rankings
- The new Acura RDX and BMW X3 went on sale in the second quarter, with the RDX outselling the Q5 and NX, and the X3 coming close
- Much like the GLC Volvo’s new XC60 continued to rise, with sales up by over 60% once again in the second quarter, cementing the new model’s position as the “best of the rest” after the Top 6
Note: Clicking on the model name opens the sales data page for that model; clicking year in the legend turns the display for that year on/off
- After a remarkable first quarter when it ranked eighth, Range Rover Velar could not maintain momentum and ended up 11th in the rankings, losing out to the recovering Lincoln MKC, the facelifted Porsche Macan, and the new Infiniti QX50
- Alfa Romeo Stelvio sales continue to rise slowly by surely, passing 3,000 units for the first time in the second quarter, allowing it to leap over the struggling Land Rover Discovery Sport (a model clearly not gelling with American customers), and coming to within 200 units of outselling the Jaguar F-Pace
Note: clicking on the model names in legend turns the display for that model on/off; data is displayed from 1990 onwards, but starts earlier – access previous years using slider on bottom