Sales of midsized MPVs in Europe continue their path to a fourth consecutive and their largest annual decline, with 25% fewer deliveries in the second quarter, leading to a loss of 26% in the first half of 2019. Just over 144.000 midsized MPVs were sold and delivered in these three months, and so far this year only three nameplates have managed to improve their sales on last year. Besides the competition from crossovers, it appears some potential MPV buyers are also cross shopping with van-based MPVs like the new Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Rifter as these balance their lower refinement with a lower price and more practicality. The fact that Opel/Vauxhall is not replacing the Zafira but giving its new van that same name instead is another indication of this trend. After ceding its top spot to the Volkswagen Touran in the first quarter, the Renault Scenic is back on top of the ranking after the second quarter, even though each model is down by more than 20%. That means both also improve their share of the segment slightly, while their nearest rivals from the last few years tumble hard.
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The Citroën C4 Picasso (now renamed C4 Spacetourer) loses 41% of its volume as the former segment leader (2014 and 2015) is down into 5th place. And with the arrival of the brand’s first compact crossover C5 Aircross, the bleeding isn’t yet over for the C4 Picasso. In fact, production of the 5-seater version has ended and only the 7-seater Grand version continues to be sold, as the brand doesn’t yet offer a 7-seat crossover. The Mercedes-Benz B-Class outsold the Touran in Q2, albeit by the slightest of margins at 16 sales. The B-Class consolidates its #3 spot and maintains its 5% improvement over last year in both quarters, helping it distance the BMW 2-series Active and Gran Tourer which is down 22%. The 225xe plug-in hybrid version had a take rate of consistently about 20% in each of the two quarters. The upcoming addition of a 7-seater version of the B-Class will only help the model improve further. In contrast, BMW will be dropping the Gran Tourer version for the next generation and will only replace the Active Tourer when a model change is due.
Below the top-5, the Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan loses 30% of its sales in Q2 and is now down 23% for the year. Still, Volkswagen’s share of the segment grows by more than a percentage point on last year, to 25,9% with its two nameplates. The Ford C-Max is due to be killed and its 39% loss shouldn’t be surprising. The big winner in the segment is the BMW i3 with a gain of 40% to enter the top-8 as it almost doubles its share to 5,8%. The Dacia Lodgy continues to outperform the segment and grow its share, and it outsold the i3 in the second quarter. The Toyota Prius+ is the third nameplate to improve at +25% after already growing in the last two years without any significant updates to the model.
| Midsized MPV segment | 2019-H1 | 2018-H1 | Change | |
| 1 | Renault (Grand) Scenic | 44.457 | 57.274 | -22% |
| 2 | Volkswagen Touran | 42.628 | 53.739 | -21% |
| 3 | Mercedes-Benz B-Class | 36.279 | 34.438 | 5% |
| 4 | BMW 2-series Active/Gran Tourer | 30.354 | 38.945 | -22% |
| 5 | Citroën C4 (Grand) Picasso | 27.966 | 47.689 | -41% |
| 6 | Volkswagen Sportsvan | 26.071 | 34.032 | -23% |
| 7 | Ford (Grand) C-Max | 20.235 | 31.957 | -37% |
| 8 | BMW i3 | 15.876 | 11.323 | 40% |
| 9 | Dacia Lodgy | 15.140 | 17.605 | -14% |
| 10 | Opel/Vauxhall Zafira | 6.678 | 19.701 | -66% |
| 11 | Toyota Prius+ | 5.669 | 4.548 | 25% |
| 12 | Kia Carens | 776 | 9.609 | -92% |
| 13 | Toyota Verso | 43 | 6.250 | -99% |
| Segment total | 272.172 | 367.113 | -26% |
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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.