Premium midsize SUVs overtake sedans, wagons in key European segment

Khodrocar - Last year for the first time models such as the Volvo XC60, Audi Q5 and BMW X3 were more popular in Europe than sedan and wagon versions of the Mercedes E class and BMW 5 series.

First-half sales of the premium midsize SUV segment rose by 23 percent to 242,682, led by the XC60, according to figures from market analysts JATO Dynamics.

Mercedes finished just behind the XC60 with combined sales of 51,653 units of the GLC and GLC Coupe. By comparison, sedan and wagon sales of comparable premium models rose 13 percent to 219,404 units.

500,000+ sales

Continued growth will push the segment to just under half a million this year, up from 409,196 last year, according to predictions from analyst firm LMC Automotive.

This autumn's launch of the new BMW X3 will help boost sales to more than 560,000 next year with the segment settling around there two years after that, LMC believes.

Sales in the premium midsize SUV sector are heavily concentrated in Europe's two largest markets, Germany and the UK, which together accounted for 46 percent of the region's volume in the first half.

The UK's love of premium SUVs remains strong despite a dip in overall sales that left it about 6,000 units behind Germany's total. Italy, the next biggest market for the segment, was half the size of the UK’s figure. France was fourth and Spain fifth.
BMW expects a sales boost from the recent arrival of its new-generation X3.

The midsize SUV segment is unique because it's the only premium segment that Audi, Mercedes or BMW doesn't lead in Europe.

Volvo has topped the segment with the first-generation XC60 and hopes to stay ahead thanks to the arrival of the second-generation model, which debuted at the Geneva auto show in March.

At the show, Volvo r&d boss Henrik Green said the first XC60, the automaker's best-selling global model, was the brand's most profitable car.

The new Audi Q5, which went on sale early this year, saw sales dip in the first six months on the back of supply constraints from Audi's new factory in Mexico. Supply now seems to be flowing and the SUV had 13 percent growth in August to remain Europe’s No. 3-selling model in the segment.

The BMW X3 lost sales ahead of its replacement.

Fresh models

The arrival of the new X3 this autumn means the segment is one of the freshest in the industry, boasting newcomers such as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Range Rover Velar, Jaguar F-Pace and Mercedes GLC Coupe.

The Audi Q4, a rival to the GLC Coupe and the BMW X4, arrives in 2019.

The Porsche Macan, Lexus NX and Land Rover Discovery Sport, which all launched in 2014, are now the oldest models in the sector's top 10.