The European midsized car segment keeps outpacing the market in 2015, growing at almost twice the rate of the rest of the car market, but keep in mind this is a segment that has been declining for a long time already. Unsurprisingly, the Volkswagen Passat tightens its stranglehold of the segment by increasing its share to 35,8%, meaning more than one in three midsized cars sold in Europe bear the VW logo. This is the highest segment share of any model in the European mainstream segments.
In Q3, the all-new Ford Mondeo is still way underperforming on its expectations, as it’s still being outsold by the 7-year old Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. So far this year, the only month the Mondeo outsold the Insignia was July, by a mere 214 units. It probably doesn’t help that it took Ford more than two years to launch the model in Europe and that it looks a lot like the outgoing model, especially from the rear 3/4, although the Passat proves that that doesn’t have to translate into slower sales.
The Peugeot 508 has lost the fourth position it held in the beginning of the year to the Skoda Superb, despite the latter also still losing a bit of ground on Q3 of last year as the model changeover took place in the past few months. The Toyota Avensis is boosted by a facelift and its popularity in Scandinavia to take over the title of best selling Asian midsized model from the Mazda6.
Meanwhile the renewed Subaru Legacy and Outback are the fastest growing midsized models, even surpassing the Renault Laguna, which must be quite a disgrace for the French. Consider this: Renault is on its way to claim the #3 brand position in its home continent, where it sells 60% of its worldwide volume and is aiming for the #2 spot, but its midsized model, the largest sedan (and station wagon) they offer, is being outsold by the model from a tiny manufacturer that produces less than 1 million cars a year, and for whom Europe is just an afterthought with less than 4% of its sales here. And picture this: in 2011, the Laguna outsold the entire Subaru brand by more than 10.000 units, with a 5-to-1 ratio against the Legacy/Outback, and in 2002 the previous generation Laguna by itself outsold the entire Subaru brand in Europe by a 7-to-1 margin. The Talisman can’t come soon enough, as the segment is in dire need of a counterweight against the Passat, but considering the Talisman won’t be available in the UK and the Germans are unlikely to buy a French sedan as one of our readers pointed out, I’m afraid a top-3 position is going to have to be hard-fought. Also considering Renault has internal competition in that price range as well now, with the Kadjar crossover.
Subaru is launching the Levorg wagon in Europe in Q4, which slots in between the Impreza compact sedan and the midsized Legacy/Outback, and I’m inclined to classify it in the compact segment. Any thoughts from my readers on that?
2015 January – September midsized car sales Europe
| Midsized segment | Jan-Sep 2015 | Jan-Sep 2014 | Change | |
| 1. | Volkswagen Passat | 164.411 | 118.751 | 38% |
| 2. | Opel/Vauxhall Insignia | 68.984 | 72.138 | -4% |
| 3. | Ford Mondeo | 60.569 | 37.947 | 60% |
| 4. | Skoda Superb | 34.063 | 35.406 | -4% |
| 5. | Peugeot 508 | 33.740 | 32.300 | 4% |
| 6. | Toyota Avensis | 24.074 | 22.142 | 9% |
| 7. | Mazda6 | 23.999 | 24.838 | -3% |
| 8. | Hyundai i40 | 19.090 | 19.771 | -3% |
| 9. | Citroën C5 | 10.398 | 14.398 | -28% |
| 10. | Subaru Legacy / Outback | 8.180 | 4.819 | 70% |
| 11. | Renault Laguna | 7.119 | 12.768 | -44% |
| 12. | Kia Optima | 2.293 | 2.574 | -11% |
| 13. | Honda Accord | 1.827 | 2.574 | -29% |
| 14. | MG6 | 490 | 400 | 23% |
| 15. | Opel/Vauxhall Ampera | 215 | 708 | -70% |
| 16. | Renault Latitude | 78 | 332 | -82% |
| 17. | Suzuki Kizashi | 38 | 207 | -97% |
| 18. | Seat Exeo | 7 | 227 | -99% |
| 19. | Chevrolet Malibu | 4 | 327 | -77% |
| Segment total | 459.579 | 402.627 | 14% |
Also check out the 2015-H1 mid-sized car segment in the United States.
Also check out the ranking of the premium midsized segment, where the Mercedes-Benz C-Class has taken the lead from the BMW 3-series.
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2014 and monthly sales in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site. Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.