The compact crossover segment in Europe sees its sales drop 23% in 2020 which narrowly beats the overall market. As a result, compact crossovers now make up 13.6% of the total European car market, up from 13.4% in 2019 and remains Europe’s fourth largest class at just over 1.62 million registrations.
The top-3 all lose market share with sales by a third or more. The Volkswagen Tiguan consolidates its class leadership, but it was outsold by the Nissan Qashqai in Q1 and Q4, with a new generation of the Japanese crossover due in 2021. Bear in mind Volkswagen doesn’t separate sales figures of the regular Tiguan and the larger Tiguan Allspace, so for the purpose of comparing each in the correct class, we assume the Allspace makes up 15% of total Tiguan sales in Europe. The Peugeot 3008 has been facelifted in 2020 but holds on to its podium position. The Toyota C-HR jumps into 4th place among mainstream brands, thanks to sales down just 15% and a take rate of over 85% for the hybrid version. It jumps ahead of the Hyundai Tucson, which will be renewed in 2021, including mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions and a bold styling.
The Skoda Karoq, Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X and Seat Ateca all lose 22% of their 2019 sales and keep their share of the segment stable, while the Citroën C5 Aircross closes in with sales down 12% and outselling the Grandland and Ateca in Q4. The Kia Sportage and Renault Kadjar are among the biggest losers in the class, as the former is also due to be replaced in 2021. The Mazda CX-30 lands at #16 overall in its first full year of sales, just ahead of the Jeep Compass, which ended the year on a high, outselling the CX-30, Sportage and Kadjar in Q4. The Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross was down by almost half as a facelift is due in 2021, including a plug-in hybrid version. This will also be the last new Mitsubishi for Europe as the brand prepares to exit the market. The quirky electric crossover Mazda MX-30 lands at #24 and the Cupra Formentor, the first standalone model of Seat’s spin-off brand, sells 5,350 units in its first few months of sales. The new generation boosts sales of the SsangYong Korando by 68% but it remains a niche player in the class.
The luxury part of the segment accounts for 27.5% of compact crossover sales, up significantly from 23.4% in 2019. The Volvo XC40 has overtaken the Audi Q3 to claim the lead of the luxury subsegment, helped by the PHEV and EV versions, boosting its sales 34% on last year. The XC40 even was the outright best seller of the class in the fourth quarter, outselling even the mainstream models, at 37,890 deliveries. The Q3 sees almost stable sales and adds a full percentage point of market share, helped by the Sportback version, moving it past the BMW X1, although the latter was closing the gap significantly in the last quarter of the year. The Mercedes-Benz GLA also had a strong last quarter thanks to the new generation. The Range Rover Evoque stays ahead of the BMW X2, while the Lexus UX jumps ahead of the Jaguar E-Pace, as the Japanese crossover sees virtually stable sales and the Brit is down by 46%.
As mentioned above, we’ll see new generations of the two South-Korean models in 2021, including hybrid and PHEV versions, as well as an updated Eclipse Cross with PHEV version. Cupra will also launch a PHEV version of the Formentor, which should boost sales of the nameplate significantly. Mercedes-Benz will launch an EV version of the GLA, called EQA. 2021 will also bring an all-new Nissan Qashqai and we can expect the arrival of Chinese players with the Lynk & Co 01 and the electric Xpeng G3.
| Compact SUV segment | 2020 | 2019 | Change | 2020 share | 2019 share | 2020-Q4 | |
| 1 | Volkswagen Tiguan (est.) | 149.845 | 225.048 | -33% | 9,1% | 10,7% | 35.272 |
| 2 | Nissan Qashqai | 135.829 | 218.946 | -38% | 8,2% | 10,4% | 35.685 |
| 3 | Peugeot 3008 | 125.440 | 194.763 | -36% | 7,6% | 9,3% | 34.268 |
| 4 | Volvo XC40 | 110.254 | 82.457 | 34% | 6,7% | 3,9% | 37.890 |
| 5 | Toyota C-HR | 101.252 | 119.786 | -15% | 6,1% | 5,7% | 23.811 |
| 6 | Hyundai Tucson | 90.594 | 136.608 | -34% | 5,5% | 6,5% | 23.107 |
| 7 | Audi Q3 | 89.789 | 91.467 | -2% | 5,4% | 4,4% | 23.651 |
| 8 | BMW X1 | 88.486 | 108.507 | -18% | 5,4% | 5,2% | 27.771 |
| 9 | Skoda Karoq | 82.121 | 105.041 | -22% | 5,0% | 5,0% | 22.295 |
| 10 | Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X | 71.680 | 91.575 | -22% | 4,3% | 4,4% | 19.452 |
| 11 | Seat Ateca | 70.408 | 90.291 | -22% | 4,3% | 4,3% | 17.818 |
| 12 | Citroën C5 Aircross | 69.750 | 79.532 | -12% | 4,2% | 3,8% | 20.637 |
| 13 | Kia Sportage | 69.016 | 110.514 | -38% | 4,2% | 5,3% | 13.741 |
| 14 | Renault Kadjar | 63.685 | 110.013 | -42% | 3,9% | 5,2% | 14.461 |
| 15 | Mercedes-Benz GLA | 55.911 | 70.608 | -21% | 3,4% | 3,4% | 22.009 |
| 16 | Mazda CX-30 | 48.801 | 14.438 | 238% | 3,0% | 0,7% | 12.308 |
| 17 | Jeep Compass | 47.312 | 64.714 | -27% | 2,9% | 3,1% | 15.777 |
| 18 | Range Rover Evoque | 37.231 | 47.374 | -21% | 2,3% | 2,3% | 9.053 |
| 19 | BMW X2 | 32.745 | 45.126 | -27% | 2,0% | 2,1% | 9.378 |
| 20 | Lexus UX | 17.077 | 17.171 | -1% | 1,0% | 0,8% | 4.704 |
| 21 | Jaguar E-Pace | 14.847 | 27.690 | -46% | 0,9% | 1,3% | 3.109 |
| 22 | Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross | 13.772 | 27.110 | -49% | 0,8% | 1,3% | 2.720 |
| 23 | Mazda MX-30 | 9.477 | 0 | New | 0,6% | 0,0% | 7.700 |
| 24 | Subaru XV | 7.341 | 10.577 | -31% | 0,4% | 0,5% | 1.853 |
| 25 | Jeep Wrangler | 7.262 | 7.522 | -3% | 0,4% | 0,4% | 1.795 |
| 26 | Cupra Formentor | 5.350 | 0 | New | 0,3% | 0,0% | 5.130 |
| 27 | SsangYong Korando | 4.737 | 2.824 | 68% | 0,3% | 0,1% | 1.105 |
| 28 | DR5 | 1.560 | 598 | 161% | 0,1% | 0,0% | 956 |
| 29 | DR6 | 566 | 798 | -29% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 78 |
| 30 | Infiniti QX30 | 26 | 679 | -96% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0 |
| 31 | MG GS | 0 | 366 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0 |
| Segment total | 1.622.164 | 2.102.143 | -23% |
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.