In the first quarter of 2021, the midsized car segment is down 9% in a stable overall market, as its share of the European car market drops to 6.6%, slightly down from 7.2% in Q1 of last year but stable on the full year share. And luxury brands continue to increase their dominance of this class, improving their share to 66.7% from 61.5% last year and claiming five of the top-6 positions.
The BMW 3-Series continues where it finished 2020: on top of the segment chart with sales down just 5%, outperforming the class and thus gaining share. Former segment leader Volkswagen Passat is outsold by the Tesla Model 3 to be knocked down into third place with sales down 16% while the American EV is up 48% and only 3,000 sales off the top spot. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is due for a redesign this year and is down 19% in the first quarter. It is now under attack from the Volvo S60/V60, which are up 5% and have leapfrogged the Audi A4, down 32% and the biggest loser in the top-12. The Skoda Superb is in second place among mainstream models, down 10%, while the Peugeot 508 and its sibling Opel/Vauxhall Insignia are both down by 28% and the Ford Mondeo is down 38%. The BMW 4-Series is up 5% thanks to the new generation and closing in on the Audi A5. The Polestar 2 is up to 14th place, with double the sales of the Toyota Camry behind it. The Camry is down 21% on last year and the Renault Talisman is down 22%, dropping their share of the segment to 1% or less. Worst performers at the bottom of the class are the Alfa Romeo Giulia (-31%), Mazda6 (-36%) and Jaguar XE (-67%), while the Subaru Legacy/Outback is making a comeback at +54%. We also welcome the Genesis G70 to the ranking with its first 33 deliveries.
| Midsized segment | 2021-Q1 | 2020-Q1 | Change | 2021 share | 2020 share | |
| 1 | BMW 3-series | 33.311 | 34.928 | -5% | 16,6% | 15,8% |
| 2 | Tesla Model 3 | 30.309 | 20.512 | 48% | 15,1% | 9,3% |
| 3 | Volkswagen Passat | 26.916 | 32.196 | -16% | 13,4% | 14,6% |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 18.545 | 22.898 | -19% | 9,2% | 10,4% |
| 5 | Volvo S60/V60 | 17.124 | 16.309 | 5% | 8,5% | 7,4% |
| 6 | Audi A4 / S4 / RS4 | 16.457 | 24.217 | -32% | 8,2% | 11,0% |
| 7 | Skoda Superb | 13.846 | 15.303 | -10% | 6,9% | 6,9% |
| 8 | Audi A5 / S5 / RS5 | 6.437 | 7.088 | -9% | 3,2% | 3,2% |
| 9 | Peugeot 508 | 6.183 | 8.562 | -28% | 3,1% | 3,9% |
| 10 | BMW 4-series | 5.574 | 5.286 | 5% | 2,8% | 2,4% |
| 11 | Opel/Vauxhall Insignia | 4.855 | 6.763 | -28% | 2,4% | 3,1% |
| 12 | Volkswagen Arteon | 4.296 | 4.927 | -13% | 2,1% | 2,2% |
| 13 | Ford Mondeo | 4.149 | 6.712 | -38% | 2,1% | 3,0% |
| 14 | Polestar 2 | 4.068 | 0 | New | 2,0% | 0,0% |
| 15 | Toyota Camry | 2.030 | 2.581 | -21% | 1,0% | 1,2% |
| 16 | Renault Talisman | 1.407 | 1.807 | -22% | 0,7% | 0,8% |
| 17 | Alfa Romeo Giulia | 1.257 | 1.827 | -31% | 0,6% | 0,8% |
| 18 | Mazda6 | 1.206 | 1.872 | -36% | 0,6% | 0,8% |
| 19 | Subaru Legacy / Outback | 1.163 | 753 | 54% | 0,6% | 0,3% |
| 20 | Jaguar XE | 616 | 1.882 | -67% | 0,3% | 0,9% |
| 21 | Kia Stinger | 450 | 472 | -5% | 0,2% | 0,2% |
| 22 | Kia Optima | 282 | 2.563 | -89% | 0,1% | 1,2% |
| 23 | Lexus IS | 255 | 523 | -51% | 0,1% | 0,2% |
| 24 | Subaru Levorg | 102 | 134 | -24% | 0,1% | 0,1% |
| 25 | Lexus RC | 48 | 171 | -72% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| 26 | Genesis G70 | 33 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% |
| Segment total | 200.919 | 220.556 | -9% |
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.