After a tiny 1% increase in 2013, European convertible sales are back down 12% again in the first half of this year. The top-3 of the segment remains unchanged, as the VW Golf Cabriolet has held on to its advantage over the Beetle softtop. I had thought the Opel/Vauxhall Cascada would be able to challenge the two Volkswagens this year, but so far it lags far behind, as theVW still sells almost twice as many Golf convertibles as Opel and Vauxhall sell Cascadas.
The Citroën DS3 Cabrio, which moved up to the fourth position in 2013, is already down 29% again, also losing a spot to the 308CC. Awaiting the new, fourth generation MX-5, the little Japanese roadster doesn’t seem to suffer that much, as it’s relatively stable at -4%.
| CONVERTIBLE SEGMENT | 2014-H1 | 2013-H1 | Change | |
| 1. | Volkswagen Golf Cabrio | 8.139 | 9.593 | -15% |
| 2. | Volkswagen Beetle Cabrio | 7.934 | 7.701 | 3% |
| 3. | Smart Fortwo Cabrio | 5.513 | 6.331 | -13% |
| 4. | Opel/Vauxhall Cascada | 4.181 | 2.815 | 49% |
| 5. | Peugeot 308CC | 3.480 | 4.526 | -23% |
| 6. | Citroën DS3 Cabrio | 3.411 | 4.808 | -29% |
| 7. | Mazda MX-5 | 3.284 | 3.426 | -4% |
| 8. | Peugeot 207CC | 3.259 | 4.634 | -30% |
| 9. | Volkswagen Eos | 2.352 | 2.648 | -11% |
| 10. | Renault Megane CC | 1.515 | 1.832 | -17% |
| Segment total | 43.281 | 49.096 | -12% |
The premium convertible segment is relatively stable, down just 3% when compared to the first half of last year, and as a result, European convertible buyers have shifted their preference back towards premium models, as these had been outsold by their non-premium rivals in the full year 2013.
As predicted in my 2013 convertible sales analysis, the 4-series convertible hardtop has taken the lead of the segment in its first year on the market, surpassing the SLK roadster and E-Class Cabriolet, both down one spot but still on the podium. A 64% increase of Audi A3 softtop helps the model into fourth position, ahead of its larger sibling A5 Cabriolet.
After a successful 2013, outselling the 911 Cabriolet and coming very close to the Z4, the Porsche Boxster is down 23% again and back behind those two others. The Audi TT roadster is down just 9% despite its new generation being introduced already at the Geneva Autoshow last March.
| PREMIUM CONVERTIBLE SEGMENT | 2014-H1 | 2013-H1 | Change | |
| 1. | BMW 4-series Cabrio | 7.288 | 0 | new |
| 2. | Mercedes-Benz SLK | 6.948 | 8.041 | -14% |
| 3. | Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabrio | 6.737 | 5.836 | 15% |
| 4. | Audi A3/S3 Cabrio | 5.666 | 3.452 | 64% |
| 5. | Audi A5/S5/RS5 Cabrio | 5.250 | 5.678 | -8% |
| 6. | BMW Z4 | 3.313 | 3.612 | -8% |
| 7. | Porsche 911 Cabrio | 2.970 | 3.650 | -19% |
| 8. | Porsche Boxster | 2.857 | 3.730 | -23% |
| 9. | Audi TT Roadster | 1.955 | 2.151 | -9% |
| 10. | Mercedes-Benz SL | 1.757 | 2.135 | -18% |
| Segment total | 50.158 | 51.568 | -3% |
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