The small MPV segment in Europe is under stress from the small crossover segment, with sales down 60.000 units or 15% in 2015 to 354.425 sales. This is the lowest figure for the segment since 2003 when the first generation Opel/Vauxhall Meriva had just been introduced and none of the other current contenders were around yet. The pain is shared among all players with the exception of one: the facelifted Kia Venga manages to improve 13% and leapfrog the Skoda Roomster, which ended production in April and sold just a handful of remaining stock models in the last few months of the year. The Fiat 500L remains the best selling small MPV thanks to its home market Italy, which takes mroe than 58% of the total European volume. Serbia, where the 500L is produced, is the only country in the world where it’s the best selling model overall, albeit with a humble 1.819 sales.
Note: clicking on the model name opens the sales data page for that model; clicking year in the legend turns the display for that year on/off
The Meriva is the “best” performer of the top-5 with sales down 7% even despite the fact GM will launch a new generation this year, developed together with PSA which will base the replacement to the Citroën C3 Picasso on the same platform. Both models are expected to be more crossover-like than their current generations, in a similar strategy that Renault has followed with the Espace and the upcoming new generation Scenic, and which should also restore the Opel/Vauxhall Zafira to its former glory.
The Nissan Note takes the hardest hit of the top-5 with sales down 29%, possibly because of cannibalization from the Pulsar compact hatchback or perhaps because the styling just isn’t long-lasting enough. I’d be surprised, because to me the Note is still the best looking small MPV around. The Nissan loses its second place to the Meriva but is also under heavy fire from the Ford B-Max, just 120 sales behind. Even the C3 Picasso outsold the Note in Q4.
Besides the two offerings from Hyundai and Kia, none of the other contenders will survive past this year and should sell their last remaining models early 2016.
| Small MPV segment | 2015 | 2014 | Change | |
| 1. | Fiat 500L | 85.357 | 94.114 | -9% |
| 2. | Opel/Vauxhall Meriva | 53.250 | 57.033 | -7% |
| 3. | Nissan Note | 46.267 | 65.579 | -29% |
| 4. | Ford B-Max | 46.147 | 53.889 | -14% |
| 5. | Citroën C3 Picasso | 39.430 | 49.067 | -20% |
| 6. | Hyundai ix20 | 35.431 | 37.290 | -5% |
| 7. | Kia Venga | 28.547 | 25.293 | 13% |
| 8. | Skoda Roomster | 14.951 | 26.018 | -43% |
| 9. | Toyota Verso-S | 4.992 | 6.202 | -20% |
| 10. | Subaru Trezia | 49 | 389 | -87% |
| 11. | Lancia Musa | 4 | 12 | -67% |
| Segment total | 354.425 | 414.931 | -15% |
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.