The midsized car segment is down 25% in 2020 to just under 790,000 sales, as its share of the European car market drops to 6.6%, slightly down from 6.7% last year. And luxury brands have now officially taken over control of this class, improving their share to 62.3% from 60.5% last year and claiming four of the top-5 positions. The top-3 players all gain share, outperforming not only the class but also the overall market.
The BMW 3-Series moves from third place to the top of the segment chart with sales down just 5%, outperforming the class and the overall market. The Volkswagen Passat is down 7% and holds on to its #2 spot. Both are available with Plug-in Hybrid versions which take 21% (3-Series) and 16% (Passat) of their sales. The Tesla Model 3 jumps to third place of the class with sales down 10%, just when the Mercedes-Benz C-Class drops from first place to fourth with sales down 43% as a new generation is due in 2021. The Audi A4 is down to fifth place as it keeps its share stable. The Skoda Superb outperforms the class at -11%, helped by its PHEV version and stays ahead of the Volvo S60/V60, down 12%.
The Peugeot 508 and Audi A5 are down by 30% and 32% respectively, but they move ahead of the Ford Mondeo, down 46% and the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, down by more than half and knocked out of the top-10. The BMW 4-Series also loses about half of its sales on 2019, as the new generation is in launch mode. That means the nameplate should be able to rebound in 2021. In its first full year of sales, the Toyota Camry hybrid outsells the Renault Talisman and Mazda6, which are among hte biggest losers of the class at -51% and -68% respectively. The Polestar 2 EV also lands above those two models in just five months of sales.
The Volkswagen Arteon was down 29% in 2020, but the addition of the Shooting Brake version and plug-in hybrid should boost the model in 2021. There’s a new Citroën C5 coming as well as a replacement to the Ford Mondeo, and both are expected to take a departure from the traditional sedan bodystyle in favour of a more crossover-like design.
| Midsized segment | 2020 | 2019 | Change | 2020 share | 2020-Q4 | |
| 1 | BMW 3-series | 118.369 | 124.537 | -5% | 15,0% | 36.217 |
| 2 | Volkswagen Passat | 115.363 | 124.650 | -7% | 14,6% | 36.464 |
| 3 | Tesla Model 3 | 85.979 | 95.168 | -10% | 10,9% | 29.811 |
| 4 | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 81.909 | 143.293 | -43% | 10,4% | 19.825 |
| 5 | Audi A4 / S4 / RS4 | 77.515 | 102.994 | -25% | 9,8% | 18.184 |
| 6 | Skoda Superb | 59.925 | 67.488 | -11% | 7,6% | 17.681 |
| 7 | Volvo S60/V60 | 58.003 | 65.917 | -12% | 7,4% | 15.384 |
| 8 | Peugeot 508 | 29.011 | 41.329 | -30% | 3,7% | 7.911 |
| 9 | Audi A5 / S5 / RS5 | 28.525 | 41.812 | -32% | 3,6% | 8.174 |
| 10 | Ford Mondeo | 21.222 | 39.555 | -46% | 2,7% | 5.209 |
| 11 | Opel/Vauxhall Insignia | 21.133 | 45.925 | -54% | 2,7% | 7.560 |
| 12 | BMW 4-series | 18.139 | 35.908 | -49% | 2,3% | 4.763 |
| 13 | Volkswagen Arteon | 13.582 | 19.048 | -29% | 1,7% | 3.286 |
| 14 | Toyota Camry | 9.119 | 7.640 | 19% | 1,2% | 2.347 |
| 15 | Polestar 2 | 8.746 | 0 | New | 1,1% | 5.509 |
| 16 | Renault Talisman | 8.025 | 16.405 | -51% | 1,0% | 2.500 |
| 17 | Alfa Romeo Giulia | 7.436 | 10.932 | -32% | 0,9% | 2.085 |
| 18 | Mazda6 | 6.950 | 22.048 | -68% | 0,9% | 1.666 |
| 19 | Kia Optima | 6.086 | 12.202 | -50% | 0,8% | 1.181 |
| 20 | Subaru Legacy / Outback | 3.844 | 7.504 | -49% | 0,5% | 1.413 |
| 21 | Jaguar XE | 3.780 | 7.978 | -53% | 0,5% | 335 |
| 22 | Lexus IS | 1.855 | 3.282 | -43% | 0,2% | 489 |
| 23 | Kia Stinger | 1.387 | 3.600 | -61% | 0,2% | 224 |
| 24 | Subaru Levorg | 825 | 1.395 | -41% | 0,1% | 407 |
| 25 | Lexus RC | 710 | 1.082 | -34% | 0,1% | 142 |
| 26 | Hyundai i40 | 305 | 3.445 | -91% | 0,0% | 6 |
| 27 | Infiniti Q50 | 71 | 563 | -87% | 0,0% | 1 |
| 28 | Infiniti Q60 | 1 | 83 | -99% | 0,0% | 0 |
| 29 | Toyota Avensis | 0 | 897 | -100% | 0,0% | 0 |
| 30 | DS5 | 0 | 145 | -100% | 0,0% | 0 |
| 31 | Citroën C5 | 0 | 4 | -100% | 0,0% | 1 |
| Segment total | 787.815 | 1.046.829 | -25% |
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.