Photo credit: Autobild.deBig news in the Midsized premium segment, as the BMW 3-series suffers its first year-on-year loss since 2011, undoubtedly due to the name-change of its coupe and convertible models to 4-series, as combined sales of the two nameplates are still in positive territory. In fact, at +15% BMW as a brand outgrows the rest of the segment, which chalks up a plus of just 6%.
The Audi A4 and A5 are both down about 5%, but the A4 has taken back its second position from the Mercedes-Benz C-Class which leapfrogged it thanks to an excellent month of March. The C-Class had claimed the segment’s second spot in 2011 and 2012 after Audi had been ahead of the Benz for 9 years including two at the top spot (2005 and 2008), and sell-out pricing of its soon-to-be-replaced A4 has helped Audi get its mid-sizer back ahead of its rival after the first half.
However, with the new generations in showrooms across Europe, the C-Class already came within 300 units of the A4 in June, and has set its target to reclaim the segment’s second spot by the end of the year.
Below the traditional German top-3, the Volvo S60 and V60 continue their impressive run at +15% thanks to minor updates last year and the success of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid Diesel-Electric version.
The BMW 4-series is catching up on the Audi A5, as it outsold its Ingolstadt rival in June for the first time ever, undoubtedly thanks to the arrival of the 4-door version, called Gran Coupe, in showrooms across Europe. The Gran Coupe, arguably the best looking model in the 3- and 4-series range, is set to become the model’s best selling version in Europe, despite BMW’s announcement that it won’t become available as the top-of-the-line M4.
At the bottom of the ranking, the two Japanese entrants in this segment are racking up nice relative gains, although they remain at a combined 2% market share of the segment.
| PREMIUM MID-SIZED CAR | ||||
| 2014-H1 | 2013-H1 | Change | ||
| 1. | BMW 3-series | 92.976 | 102.117 | -9% |
| 2. | Audi A4/S4/RS4 | 64.906 | 68.871 | -6% |
| 3. | Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 62.623 | 62.528 | 0% |
| 4. | Volvo S60/V60 | 28.259 | 24.677 | 15% |
| 5. | Audi A5/S5/RS5 | 26.406 | 28.475 | -7% |
| 6. | BMW 4-series | 24.468 | 0 | new |
| 7. | Volkswagen CC | 8.453 | 10.187 | -17% |
| 8. | Lexus IS | 5.600 | 597 | 838% |
| 9. | Infiniti Q50 | 1.137 | 44 | 2484% |
| Segment total | 314.835 | 297.738 | 6% | |
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2013 and monthly sales in 2012, 2013 and 2014, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site. Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.