European sales of subcompact cars were down 7% in 2021, in a market down 2%. In Q4, subcompact cars are down 30% in a market down 24%. With 2.07 million subcompact (mostly) hatchbacks delivered in 2021, the segment now makes up 17.6% of the European car market, down from 18.7% last year. As a result, it’s no longer Europe’s largest segment as it has been for decades. In 2021 for the first time ever, there are more small crossovers sold in Europe than subcompact cars. This volume is a new record low for the class, which peaked at over 4.5 million sales in 2007.
If the Peugeot 208 flamboyantly took the top spot of the class in Q1 of this year, and managed to defend that position all through the first half, the Renault Clio struck back in the second half to extend the winning streak it has continued since 2016, despite a 20% decline in deliveries. The fifth generation Clio turns out to be less popular than the fourth generation, which can partially be explained by the loss of the station wagon body style. The battle for the top spots is fiercer than ever, with the top-3 within 6,500 sales of each other. Of these, the big surprise is the Dacia Sandero whose third generation is off to an excellent start with sales up 16% and a record share of the class at 9.3%. The Toyota Yaris started 2021 strong with an overall win in January and a #2 spot in the first half of the year, but it slowed down in the second half to finish 2021 behind the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa in 5th place with sales down 1%. The Citroën C3 was up 5% to knock the VW Polo down into 7th place, while the Ford Fiesta struggled the most with supply shortages at -45%. The former class leader is down into 10th place for the year, behind the Skoda Fabia which is about to be renewed and will also lose its station wagon version.
The Renault Zoe sees a sales decline of 30% but still manages to outsell the Seat Ibiza, up 9%. The Suzuki Swift is the big winner in the top-15 with a 16% jump in deliveries, but doesn’t manage to pass the Hyundai i20, down 3%. The Honda Jazz is up 21% thanks to the new generation.
The luxury part of the segment accounts for 10.3% of subcompact car sales in Europe, up 0.8 percentage points on2020 as all three nameplates gain market share. The Mini stays firmly in control, taking an 8th place overall and gaining share with sales up 3%, helped by the addition of the electric version. The hardtop, 4-door and convertible as well as the EV will be updated this year. The Audi A1 also gains a bit of share despite sales down 2%. Audi has already announced that this generation A1 will be the last as it is not developing an all-electric successor. The Lancia Ypsilon is up 2% in 2021 thanks to yet another facelift and the addition of a mild hybrid version. The brand has not yet revealed any concrete plans for a replacement or additional models for the Lancia brand.
| Subcompact segment | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 share | 2020 share | 2021-Q4 | 2020-Q4 | Change | |
| 1 | Renault Clio | 199.889 | 248.602 | -20% | 9,6% | 11,1% | 49.499 | 64.171 | -23% |
| 2 | Peugeot 208 | 195.728 | 199.316 | -2% | 9,4% | 8,9% | 48.884 | 57.643 | -15% |
| 3 | Dacia Sandero | 193.486 | 167.032 | 16% | 9,3% | 7,5% | 45.226 | 47.433 | -5% |
| 4 | Opel/Vauxhall Corsa | 183.495 | 198.887 | -8% | 8,9% | 8,9% | 37.799 | 56.770 | -33% |
| 5 | Toyota Yaris | 178.032 | 179.867 | -1% | 8,6% | 8,0% | 23.839 | 57.964 | -59% |
| 6 | Citroën C3 | 156.904 | 149.284 | 5% | 7,6% | 6,7% | 33.527 | 41.759 | -20% |
| 7 | Volkswagen Polo | 154.066 | 169.467 | -9% | 7,4% | 7,6% | 30.639 | 43.900 | -30% |
| 8 | Mini | 113.574 | 110.664 | 3% | 5,5% | 4,9% | 30.498 | 30.368 | 0% |
| 9 | Skoda Fabia | 90.212 | 97.906 | -8% | 4,4% | 4,4% | 17.709 | 24.935 | -29% |
| 10 | Ford Fiesta | 86.385 | 156.067 | -45% | 4,2% | 7,0% | 6.649 | 38.647 | -83% |
| 11 | Renault Zoe | 69.136 | 99.432 | -30% | 3,3% | 4,4% | 22.837 | 36.082 | -37% |
| 12 | Seat Ibiza | 68.750 | 62.832 | 9% | 3,3% | 2,8% | 10.366 | 14.968 | -31% |
| 13 | Hyundai i20 | 61.662 | 63.301 | -3% | 3,0% | 2,8% | 13.818 | 14.588 | -5% |
| 14 | Suzuki Swift | 59.217 | 51.134 | 16% | 2,9% | 2,3% | 10.162 | 14.410 | -29% |
| 15 | Audi A1 | 57.092 | 58.224 | -2% | 2,8% | 2,6% | 10.165 | 16.061 | -37% |
| 16 | Lancia Ypsilon | 43.862 | 43.076 | 2% | 2,1% | 1,9% | 8.459 | 13.696 | -38% |
| 17 | Nissan Micra | 36.340 | 39.721 | -9% | 1,8% | 1,8% | 7.003 | 9.064 | -23% |
| 18 | Kia Rio | 34.265 | 33.052 | 4% | 1,7% | 1,5% | 7.925 | 7.836 | 1% |
| 19 | Honda Jazz | 30.503 | 25.182 | 21% | 1,5% | 1,1% | 6.689 | 6.348 | 5% |
| 20 | Fiat 500L | 19.967 | 21.883 | -9% | 1,0% | 1,0% | 4.518 | 6.275 | -28% |
| 21 | Mazda2 | 18.339 | 16.402 | 12% | 0,9% | 0,7% | 3.132 | 4.299 | -27% |
| 22 | Dacia Logan | 16.134 | 38.408 | -58% | 0,8% | 1,7% | 4.291 | 9.580 | -55% |
| 23 | Honda e | 3.752 | 4.078 | -8% | 0,2% | 0,2% | 1.471 | 2.515 | -42% |
| 24 | MG3 | 2.018 | 2.547 | -21% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 363 | 563 | -36% |
| Segment total | 2.072.821 | 2.239.589 | -7% | 435.442 | 619.875 | -30% |
Car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.