The small crossover and SUV segment overtakes the compact car segment in the third quarter of 2020 to become Europe’s #2 segment behind the subcompact car class. Sales were down 17% in the first nine months of 2020, to just under 1.45 million units. As a result the segment’s share of the European car market improves from 14.6% in the first three quarters of 2019 to 16.8% so far this year. If the current trend continues, small crossovers will become Europe’s biggest segment in a few years time.
All top-4 best sellers lose share of the segment as new players continue to arrive and fragment the class. The Renault Captur has now well and truly reclaimed the top spot it lost to the Volkswagen T-Roc in Q1. In fact, the Peugeot 2008 was the segment #2 in Q3, ahead of the VW. And with the Captur PHEV and 2008 EV gaining popularity, those two models are set up for further success. The Ford Puma took fourth place in Q3, just ahead of the Dacia Duster, and jumps to 7th place YTD, with a top-5 position in its sights for the end of the year. In the meantime the Hyundai Kona has leapfrogged the Volkswagen T-Cross for fifth place, helped by better availability of its EV version. Similarly, the Kia Niro was in 8th place in Q3, jumping from 13th to 11th in the YTD ranking. The Opel/Vauxhall Crossland X is about to be facelifted and will get an internal rival with the new Mokka, and is starting to lose share with a 21% drop in deliveries.
The Seat Arona and Citroën C3 Aircross perform even worse and are quickly losing share of the segment. The Nissan Juke has a strong Q3 thanks to the new generation, bringing the nameplate back into the black for the year so far, and moving past the Fiat 500X, Ford Ecosport, Kia Stonic and Jeep Renegade, of which only the Stonic beats the segment average while the other three are down harshly. The Renegae has just been facelifted and has received a PHEV version which should help the model recover some of the lost share. Kia’s third of four models in this class, the Xceed, has already peaked at 19th place and was outsold by the Suzuki Vitara in Q3. The MG ZS continues to outperform the class thanks to its EV version, outselling the Mitsubishi ASX in the third quarter.
Luxury brands have not stormed this class just yet like they have in the larger crossover classes, making up just 6.2% of the segment, down from 6.5% in the first nine months of 2019. Still only three models compete in this subsegment, of which the Audi Q2 manages to hold its top spot with sales down by 28%, giving it a 13th place overall. The Mini Countryman is also down 28% to an overall 21st place. The next generation Countryman is set to grow into a larger segment as it will be sized similar to the BMW X1 with which it shares most of its underpinnings. The DS3 Crossback lands at #26. The latter’s optional EV version should help the French crossover climb the ranking in 2020, but so far it hasn’t been able to bring significant numbers.
| Small SUV segment | 2020 Q1-Q3 | 2019 Q1-Q3 | Change | 2020 share | 2020-Q3 | |
| 1 | Renault Captur | 125.690 | 165.414 | -24% | 8,7% | 54.572 |
| 2 | Volkswagen T-Roc | 112.610 | 161.691 | -30% | 7,8% | 42.800 |
| 3 | Peugeot 2008 | 104.822 | 129.508 | -19% | 7,2% | 50.949 |
| 4 | Dacia Duster | 100.156 | 166.225 | -40% | 6,9% | 42.189 |
| 5 | Hyundai Kona | 85.979 | 77.641 | 11% | 5,9% | 40.652 |
| 6 | Volkswagen T-Cross | 82.442 | 62.493 | 32% | 5,7% | 30.520 |
| 7 | Ford Puma | 78.387 | 12 | +++ | 5,4% | 42.232 |
| 8 | Opel/Vauxhall Crossland X | 69.979 | 88.180 | -21% | 4,8% | 27.082 |
| 9 | Seat Arona | 60.775 | 84.907 | -28% | 4,2% | 22.923 |
| 10 | Citroën C3 Aircross | 56.277 | 90.618 | -38% | 3,9% | 19.334 |
| 11 | Kia Niro | 55.862 | 44.373 | 26% | 3,9% | 28.151 |
| 12 | Skoda Kamiq | 54.743 | 1.978 | 2668% | 3,8% | 22.458 |
| 13 | Audi Q2 | 44.197 | 60.976 | -28% | 3,1% | 18.202 |
| 14 | Nissan Juke | 41.999 | 41.913 | 0% | 2,9% | 19.610 |
| 15 | Fiat 500X | 41.625 | 70.397 | -41% | 2,9% | 17.091 |
| 16 | Ford Ecosport | 41.440 | 93.888 | -56% | 2,9% | 13.255 |
| 17 | Kia Stonic | 40.975 | 48.406 | -15% | 2,8% | 16.873 |
| 18 | Jeep Renegade | 40.419 | 62.920 | -36% | 2,8% | 17.981 |
| 19 | Kia Xceed | 33.669 | 0 | New | 2,3% | 13.702 |
| 20 | Suzuki Vitara | 31.444 | 61.112 | -49% | 2,2% | 14.722 |
| 21 | Mini Countryman | 30.782 | 42.714 | -28% | 2,1% | 12.390 |
| 22 | Citroën C4 Cactus | 22.610 | 42.392 | -47% | 1,6% | 8.362 |
| 23 | Mitsubishi ASX | 14.793 | 23.812 | -38% | 1,0% | 5.028 |
| 24 | MG ZS | 14.383 | 6.157 | 134% | 1,0% | 7.699 |
| 25 | Suzuki S-Cross | 14.305 | 27.974 | -49% | 1,0% | 6.499 |
| 26 | DS3 Crossback | 14.256 | 10.452 | 36% | 1,0% | 5.113 |
| 27 | Honda HR-V | 11.284 | 16.226 | -30% | 0,8% | 5.003 |
| 28 | Suzuki Jimny | 9.130 | 12.582 | -27% | 0,6% | 2.193 |
| 29 | Kia Soul | 6.091 | 4.204 | 45% | 0,4% | 2.421 |
| 30 | SsangYong Tivoli | 3.012 | 4.512 | -33% | 0,2% | 1.369 |
| 31 | Mazda CX-3 | 2.165 | 45.537 | -95% | 0,1% | 2.038 |
| 32 | Lada Niva | 1.222 | 2.200 | -44% | 0,1% | 360 |
| 33 | Mahindra KUV100 | 694 | 707 | -2% | 0,0% | 264 |
| 34 | DR4 | 576 | 519 | 11% | 0,0% | 219 |
| 35 | DR3 | 453 | 714 | -37% | 0,0% | 113 |
| 36 | SsangYong XLV | 212 | 1.436 | -85% | 0,0% | |
| 37 | Opel/Vauxhall Mokka | 80 | 74.574 | -100% | 0,0% | |
| 38 | Suzuki SX4 | 3 | 7 | -57% | 0,0% | |
| Segment total | 1.448.793 | 1.752.640 | -17% |
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.