Large SUVs continue to gain share in Europe, outperforming the overall market thanks to sales down 6% in 2020, and now make up 2.6% of the total European car market, from 2.1% in 2019. Total segment sales this year are just under 315,000 units, of which 84.4% are from luxury brands, up from 78.4% last year.
The BMW X5 remains the class leader by 1,300 deliveries, although the Mercedes-Benz GLE was the winner in the second and fourth quarters. These two are the only nameplates in the class above 10% share. The X5 is down 8% and the GLE is up 62% thanks to the new generation. The Audi e-Tron continues to improve, reaching almost 28,000 sales in its first full year of sales, good enough for a podium position. In the last quarter, the Volvo XC90 narrowly outsold the e-Tron but its drops to 4th place for the year, with sales down 16%. The Porsche Cayenne is down 9% and passes the Range Rover Sport, while the Audi Q7 is up 8% to move past its siblings Volkswagen Touareg, down 44%, and Audi Q8, down 26%. The BMW X6 benefits from a new generation and more than doubles its sales, while the new Land Rover Defender lands in 11th place, just ahead of the Range Rover, down by one third as a new generation is due.
The BMW X7 jumps to 18th place in its first full year of sales, outselling its rival Mercedes-Benz GLS, which doubles its sales thanks to the new generation. We welcome the Ford Explorer PHEV to the ranking with its first 2,526 deliveries, although it can’t prevent Ford from actually losing volume in the class as the Edge is down 57%. America’s favorite, the Toyota Highlander finally lands in Europe as well, as a hybrid only, and 2021 will prove if it manages to sell in any significant numbers. We also welcome the Aston Martin DBX to the charts, just above the other ultra luxury Brit, the Rolls Royce Cullinan.
| Large SUV segment | 2020 | 2019 | Change | 2020 share | 2019 share | 2020-Q4 | |
| 1 | BMW X5 | 40.961 | 44.765 | -8% | 13,0% | 13,4% | 12.473 |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz GLE | 39.657 | 24.453 | 62% | 12,6% | 7,3% | 13.419 |
| 3 | Audi e-Tron | 27.713 | 18.382 | 51% | 8,8% | 5,5% | 7.716 |
| 4 | Volvo XC90 | 24.584 | 29.252 | -16% | 7,8% | 8,8% | 7.732 |
| 5 | Porsche Cayenne | 18.330 | 20.102 | -9% | 5,8% | 6,0% | 4.653 |
| 6 | Range Rover Sport | 17.500 | 26.291 | -33% | 5,6% | 7,9% | 4.286 |
| 7 | Audi Q7 | 17.413 | 16.127 | 8% | 5,5% | 4,8% | 4.407 |
| 8 | Volkswagen Touareg | 14.275 | 25.565 | -44% | 4,5% | 7,7% | 4.162 |
| 9 | Audi Q8 | 12.983 | 17.627 | -26% | 4,1% | 5,3% | 3.485 |
| 10 | BMW X6 | 10.460 | 4.951 | 111% | 3,3% | 1,5% | 2.819 |
| 11 | Land Rover Defender | 8.729 | 1 | +++ | 2,8% | 0,0% | 3.535 |
| 12 | Range Rover | 7.844 | 11.705 | -33% | 2,5% | 3,5% | 1.942 |
| 13 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 7.189 | 8.962 | -20% | 2,3% | 2,7% | 2.065 |
| 14 | Kia Sorento | 6.885 | 9.703 | -29% | 2,2% | 2,9% | 3.327 |
| 15 | Land Rover Discovery | 6.493 | 9.766 | -34% | 2,1% | 2,9% | 1.013 |
| 16 | Mercedes-Benz G-Class | 6.342 | 8.682 | -27% | 2,0% | 2,6% | 828 |
| 17 | Tesla Model X | 6.007 | 7.861 | -24% | 1,9% | 2,4% | 1.875 |
| 18 | BMW X7 | 5.582 | 4.643 | 20% | 1,8% | 1,4% | 1.418 |
| 19 | Lexus RX | 5.556 | 6.805 | -18% | 1,8% | 2,0% | 1.389 |
| 20 | Mercedes-Benz GLS | 4.795 | 2.386 | 101% | 1,5% | 0,7% | 1.208 |
| 21 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 4.636 | 7.129 | -35% | 1,5% | 2,1% | 536 |
| 22 | Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe | 4.570 | 4.535 | 1% | 1,5% | 1,4% | 2.390 |
| 23 | Toyota Land Cruiser | 4.489 | 6.359 | -29% | 1,4% | 1,9% | 888 |
| 24 | Ford Edge | 3.698 | 8.616 | -57% | 1,2% | 2,6% | 1.208 |
| 25 | Ford Explorer | 2.526 | 0 | New | 0,8% | 0,0% | 988 |
| 26 | Maserati Levante | 2.184 | 3.290 | -34% | 0,7% | 1,0% | 687 |
| 27 | Lamborghini Urus | 1.087 | 967 | 12% | 0,3% | 0,3% | 297 |
| 28 | Bentley Bentayga | 975 | 991 | -2% | 0,3% | 0,3% | 241 |
| 29 | SsangYong Rexton | 374 | 2.315 | -84% | 0,1% | 0,7% | 84 |
| 30 | Aston Martin DBX | 305 | 0 | New | 0,1% | 0,0% | 199 |
| 31 | Rolls Royce Cullinan | 303 | 406 | -25% | 0,1% | 0,1% | 94 |
| 32 | Toyota Highlander | 245 | 0 | New | 0,1% | 0,0% | 245 |
| 33 | Mitsubishi Pajero Sport | 83 | 551 | -85% | 0,0% | 0,2% | 3 |
| 34 | Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero / Shogun | 75 | 608 | -88% | 0,0% | 0,2% | 0 |
| Segment total | 314.848 | 333.796 | -6% |
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.