Sales in the Small Premium Sports segment fell by 9 percent in the third quarter of 2016, bringing the overall sales growth for the year down to 3 percent. Still, this is a much better performance than either the Sports Small segment (down 6 percent) or the Sports Large segment (down 13 percent). The prospects for this segment rest on how the public will like the newly-facelifted Porsche Boxster and Cayman (now with the “718” prefix), as well as the continued increase in popularity of the new Audi TT.
Highlights in Q1-Q3 2016:
- Porsche Cayman consolidated its new segment leadership in the third quarter, despite the imminent entry of the 718 Cayman into the market
- There is only one other car whose sales rose since the beginning of the year: Audi TT. The new model may not quite be selling enough to trouble the Cayman quite yet, but with the imminent entry of the TT RS halo model onto the market, it may yet challenge for segment leadership in 2017
- Sales of the second-placed Mercedes-Benz SLC failed to recover in the third quarter despite the model’s facelift and renaming to SLC
- There’s a new segment leader: after a stable Q1, the Porsche Cayman improves its sales 37.6% in Q2 to gain 21.4% in the first half, enough to propel it ahead of the Mercedes-Benz SLC/SLK, which loses 29.8% in Q2 and 16.5% in the half, as it is hampered by a facelift and namechange. As soon as the updated SLC starts to hit showroom, Mercedes is likely to hit back.
- The Audi TT has been renewed in the second half of 2015 and enjoys booming growth, moving past the Porsche Boxster to take third place in the segment.
- After positive growth in Q2 both BMW Z4 and Alfa Romeo 4C dropped into red once again, losing 4 percent and 36 percent, respectively, in Q3