Sales of large MPVs in Europe are falling at double the rate of the overall market in the first quarter of 2020. At 14,300 deliveries, sales are down 47% and the share of the large MPV segment falls from 0.7% in 2019 to 0.5% so far in 2020.
The Seat Alhambra continues to lead the segment and is actually the best performer of the class at -37%. All of its rivals fall even faster and this means that not a single nameplate in this segment beats the market. However, the segment best seller is due to be axed as its position as the 7-seater in Seat’s line-up has now been taken by the Tarraco crossover. Volkswagen will continue to build the Alhambra’s clone Volkswagen Sharan for now, but it’s unlikely there will be an MPV replacement after it too reaches the end of its life cycle. The Sharan holds on to its third place for now, with sales down 49%. Ford’s two entrants in this class both outperform the segment, with the S-Max down 40% in 2nd place and the Galaxy down 46% in 4th place. The Renault Espace is all but dead with a mere 371 deliveries in the first quarter, down 86% on last year, and the same goes even more strongly of the SsangYong Rodius, down 97% with just 4 deliveries.
| Large MPV segment | 2020-Q1 | 2019-Q1 | Change | 2020 share | 2019 share | |
| 1 | Seat Alhambra | 4.639 | 7.382 | -37% | 32,4% | 27,2% |
| 2 | Ford S-Max | 3.648 | 6.119 | -40% | 25,5% | 22,6% |
| 3 | Volkswagen Sharan | 3.525 | 6.855 | -49% | 24,7% | 25,3% |
| 4 | Ford Galaxy | 2.113 | 3.916 | -46% | 14,8% | 14,4% |
| 5 | Renault Espace | 371 | 2.687 | -86% | 2,6% | 9,9% |
| 6 | SsangYong Rodius / Stavic | 4 | 155 | -97% | 0,0% | 0,6% |
| Segment total | 14.300 | 27.114 | -47% |
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.