With its small volume, the Large SUV segment in Europe is one of the most volatile. It shrunk 24% in 2013 before rebounding 22% in 2014 and another 23% last year. The segment is 100% Asian manufacturers and heavily controlled by Hyundai-Kia, which increase their combined share to 65,7% in 2015. The Kia Sorento is the new leader of the segment with sales up 76% to take more than a third of the segment total sales in Europe, helped by the new generation launched last year. It leapfrogs the Hyundai Santa Fe which has led the segment for the three previous years. Together, the couple has taken the two top spots of the segment for 7 years in a row now.
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The Toyota Land Cruiser holds on to its third place despite losing 3% of its volume and having to fight off the Mitsubishi Pajero, which surges 22% despite being almost 10 years old. The SsangYong Rexton continues its continuous improvement after the brand has returned from bankruptcy, while the Mazda CX-9 miraculously reappears in the ranking. Nissan has given up on the segment as Europe will not get the next generations of the Murano and Pathfinder. The 7-seat X-Trail will have to do for Nissan customers who need more space.
2016 will bring the long-awaited Ford Edge across the Atlantic to become the only non-Asian player in the segment and it will be interesting to see if it can actually break the dominance of Hyundai and Kia.
| Large SUV segment | 2015 | 2014 | Change | |
| 1. | Kia Sorento | 16.539 | 9.390 | 76% |
| 2. | Hyundai Santa Fe | 14.492 | 13.390 | 8% |
| 3. | Toyota Land Cruiser | 6.052 | 6.258 | -3% |
| 4. | Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero / Shogun | 5.920 | 4.859 | 22% |
| 5. | SsangYong Rexton | 2.214 | 1.929 | 15% |
| 6. | Mazda CX-9 | 1.057 | 69 | 1432% |
| 7. | Nissan Murano | 603 | 625 | -4% |
| 8. | Nissan Pathfinder | 388 | 1.867 | -79% |
| Segment total | 47.265 | 38.387 | 23% |
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2014 and monthly sales in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site.
Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.