The Premium Large SUV segment has accelerated its growth in the second quarter of 2015, with first half sales now up 10% on last year. Despite a 1% drop in sales, the BMW X5 firmly holds on to its top spot. The Range Rover Sport and Volkswagen Touareg both improve 9%, kicking the Mercedes-Benz M-Class off the podium. The M-Class will be replaced by the GLE in the second half of the year, which should come up on top in 2016.
The Porsche Cayenne improves 44% on last year, with almost 1.500 e-Hybrid Plug-In sales, but no clear explanation for the rest of the model’s growth. The Land Rover Discovery was in 6th place in Q1, but has been passed by both the Range Rover and the BMW X6 for the first half. The X6 is the fastest growing model of the segment thanks to its new generation. Those honors will soon go to the all-new Volvo XC90, which was down 95% to just over 100 sales of the outgoing model in Q1, but the new generation was up to more than 3.000 sales in June, making it the second best selling model of the segment that month. 
As a result, the XC90 is already close to its year-to-date figure of 2014 and will move up the ranks quickly and is likely to finish the year on the podium, even though it’s still outside the top-10 for the first half. It may even have a shot at challenging the GLE for the top spot of the segment next year. The T8 Plug-In hybrid was already sold out for this year before the car was even officially launched, which promises a bright future for the XC90. Sales of the new generation Audi Q7 were still gaining traction in June, when the model sold 1.749 units for a sixth place of the segment, compared with 10th year-to-date. The Q7 is also likely to storm up the charts in coming months, so the segment ranking will be shaken up by the time Q3 comes to an end.
The Lexus RX, class leader in the US, will be replaced later this year or early next year, and the replacement to the iconic Land Rover Defender is also expected next year. In June, one European actually bought a Mercedes-Benz R-Class, despite the model having been officially discontinued at the end of 2013. I’m sure he negotiated a nice discount for himself. I wonder how many new R-Classes are still in stock now…
2015 first half premium large SUV sales Europe
| Premium large SUV segment | H1 2015 | H1 2014 | Change | |
| 1. | BMW X5 | 19.216 | 19.351 | -1% |
| 2. | Range Rover Sport | 15.452 | 14.198 | 9% |
| 3. | Volkswagen Touareg | 10.748 | 9.853 | 9% |
| 4. | Mercedes-Benz M-Class | 10.531 | 11.972 | -12% |
| 5. | Porsche Cayenne | 9.995 | 6.954 | 44% |
| 6. | Range Rover | 7.853 | 6.580 | 19% |
| 7. | BMW X6 | 7.753 | 2.979 | 160% |
| 8. | Land Rover Discovery | 6.700 | 5.944 | 13% |
| 9. | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 6.614 | 7.144 | -7% |
| 10. | Audi Q7 | 5.995 | 5.716 | 5% |
| 11. | Volvo XC90 | 4.464 | 4.573 | -2% |
| 12. | Mercedes-Benz GL | 2.119 | 2.279 | -7% |
| 13. | Lexus RX | 2.026 | 2.494 | -19% |
| 14. | Mercedes-Benz G-Class | 1.457 | 1.157 | 26% |
| 15. | Infiniti QX70 | 791 | 488 | 62% |
| 16. | Land Rover Defender | 563 | 719 | -22% |
| 17. | Mercedes-Benz R-Class | 4 | 24 | -83% |
| Segment total | 112.281 | 102.425 | 10% |
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2013 and monthly sales in 2012, 2013 and 2014, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site. Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.