After 3 years and one quarter of booming growth, the premium large SUV segment in Europe has hit a roadblock. Sales were down 6% in Q2, pulling down the year-to-date growth rate to just 2%, less than the overall market. A total of 150.235 large luxury SUVs were sold in the first half of 2017. The BMW X5 is on its way for a fourth consecutive year on top of the ranking, ever since the current generation was launched. The Audi Q7 jumps from 4th place in the first quarter to 2nd in the second quarter and also grabs that position in the first half ranking, outselling the Volvo XC90 (down 30% in Q2) and Range Rover Sport (down 13% in Q2). The XC90 has seen a similar drop in the US, where they blamed it on limited availability due to worldwide demand, especially for the T8 plug-in hybrid version, but the same seems to be happening in Europe now. With less than 1.000 monthly sales, China can’t be responsible for the limited availability in Europe and the US, so there must be another explanation. We’ll keep you updated as we find out more.
Note: clicking on the model name opens the sales data page for that model; clicking year in the legend turns the display for that year on/off
The Mercedes-Benz GLE is slowly losing terrain but remains in 5th place, while the new generation Land Rover Discovery is making itself noticed by leapfrogging its stablemate Range Rover. In Q2 the Disco is up 42% on sales of its predecessor, while its larger sibling is virtually stable. Jaguar-Land Rover now dominates this segment, increasing its share form 20,8% to 22% with its 3 models, surpassing VW Group with its 3 models, as it loses share of the segment from 23,7% to 21,4%. Both the Volkswagen Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne lose a quarter of their sales in the second quarter, and both are down by double digits year-to-date, but both will be replaced later this year. The BMW X6 holds on to its top-10 position ahead of the Jeep Grand Cherokee, even though both lose by double digits in Q2. The Tesla Model X came to within 200 sales of its American rival and within 300 sales of the German SUV-Coupe. It outsold the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe and therefore moves up a spot into 12th place. The Lexus RX has already peaked and is starting to fade with a 19% loss in the second quarter.
The Maserati Levante celebrates its first anniversary in 15th place, while the 38-year old Mercedes-Benz G-Class outsells its 5-year old stablemate Mercedes-Benz GLS. The G-Wagen is about to be replaced with an all-new generation, which will become a bit wider and more modern, but will keep its characteristic looks and off-road capabilities. The Bentley Bentayga was never intended to be a volume player.
Later this year, VW Group will launch the third generations Touareg and Cayenne on the same platform as the Q7. We’ll have to wait until 2018 for the highly anticipated replacement to the legendary and therefore almost irreplacable Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
Also check out the premium large SUV segment in the US, where the Mercedes GLE reclaims its 2nd place, but the Lexus RX is still the dominant leader.
| Premium large SUV segment | 2017-H1 | 2016-H1 | Change | Share | |
| 1 | BMW X5 | 19.987 | 19.525 | 2% | 13,3% |
| 2 | Audi Q7 | 17.020 | 17.029 | 0% | 11,3% |
| 3 | Volvo XC90 | 15.719 | 18.650 | -16% | 10,5% |
| 4 | Range Rover Sport | 15.688 | 15.487 | 1% | 10,4% |
| 5 | Mercedes-Benz GLE | 13.844 | 14.795 | -6% | 9,2% |
| 6 | Land Rover Discovery | 9.301 | 7.747 | 20% | 6,2% |
| 7 | Range Rover | 8.037 | 7.353 | 9% | 5,3% |
| 8 | Volkswagen Touareg | 7.717 | 9.522 | -19% | 5,1% |
| 9 | Porsche Cayenne | 7.397 | 8.427 | -12% | 4,9% |
| 10 | BMW X6 | 5.950 | 6.717 | -11% | 4,0% |
| 11 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 5.701 | 6.837 | -17% | 3,8% |
| 12 | Tesla Model X | 5.200 | 51 | New | 3,5% |
| 13 | Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe | 5.128 | 5.332 | -4% | 3,4% |
| 14 | Lexus RX | 3.998 | 4.409 | -9% | 2,7% |
| 15 | Maserati Levante | 3.496 | 91 | New | 2,3% |
| 16 | Mercedes-Benz G-Class | 2.493 | 2.064 | 21% | 1,7% |
| 17 | Mercedes-Benz GLS | 2.468 | 2.563 | -4% | 1,6% |
| 18 | Bentley Bentayga | 813 | 391 | 108% | 0,5% |
| 19 | Infiniti QX70 | 271 | 733 | -63% | 0,2% |
| 20 | Land Rover Defender | 7 | 149 | -95% | 0% |
| Segment total | 150.235 | 147.875 | 2% |
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2016 and monthly sales from 2012 to 2016, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site.
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.