Automotive News Europe - January 2013 - 13

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

OEM

Big gains seen for small crossovers
VW, Peugeot, Ford expected to drive grow in hot segment
NICK GIBBS
ngibbs@crain.com

Tough battle
How Europe’s small crossover race is predicted to finish in 2014
1. 2. 3. 4. Peugeot 2008 Renault B-SUV* Nissan Juke Opel/Vauxhall Mokka 5. Ford EcoSport 6. Chevrolet Trax 7. Fiat 500X 84,894 74,356 56,251 32,896 25,637 16,367 14,890

uge sales gains are forecast in Europe for subcompact crossovers as giants such as Volkswagen, Peugeot and Ford prepare to join the Nissan Juke in the fast-growing segment. Small crossover sales in Europe will more than double to 400,000 by 2015, analyst IHS Automotive predicts. Last year, 163,806 small crossovers were sold, with the Juke dominating, according to the consultancy. VW previewed its entrant with the Taigun concept seen at the Sao Paulo auto show last October. Based on the New Small Family platform that underpins the Up minicar, VW’s new vehicle, which is expected to debut in 2015 at the earliest, will be sold worldwide, r&d head Ulrich Hackenberg told journalists in Brazil. “The segment is booming and we should not leave the market to our rivals,” Hackenberg separately told Automotive News Europe sister publication Automobilwoche. VW’s planned entry into the segmen demonstrates how quickly the market niche has matured, according to IHS. “They tend to hang back and then go in all guns blazing. They’ve done that successfully with the Tiguan medium SUV and with the Touran minivan,” senior analyst Ian Fletcher said. The Tiguan debuted in 2007 and a year later it was Europe’s top-selling medium SUV, passing longtime No. 1 the Toyota RAV4. Last year VW sold 118,223 Tiguans in Europe while Toyota sold 43,662 RAV4s, dropping it to No. 6 in the medium SUV segment. The VW Up is also doing well in its first full year in the minicar segment, with 11-month sales this year enough to push it to third behind the Fiat Panda and 500. IHS’ sales prediction for the segment has

The Taigun concept shows what Volkswagen has planned for the fastgrowing small crossover segment. the forthcoming Peugeot 2008, due next year, as the 2014 leader with a volume of more than 84,000. “It’s a good-looking vehicle for that class,” Fletcher said. Ranking second in the forecast, which doesn’t include the VW because it’s not due until at least a year later, is the new Renault Clio-based SUV. The company has confirmed the new car will go on sale this year, with a likely introduction at the Geneva auto show in March. “It’s not just a Juke copy,” said a spokesman for Renault, which is alliance partners with Nissan. The new Renault car is based on the same B-platform as the Clio but won’t share a name with the subcompact hatchback, according to the company. Renault has experience in this niche as the parent company of Dacia, maker of the successful Duster, which is larger than the planned Renault crossover. (IHS predicts Dacia will sell more than 105,000 Dusters in Europe in 2014.)

*Official model name not revealed yet Source: IHS Automotive

rity.” Mark Adams, vice president of design at Opel/Vauxhall, told Automotive News Europe. The Mokka is on sale now starting at 18,990 euros ($24,800) in Germany. The company says it already has more than 50,000 orders. The Mokka is also sold as the Chevrolet Trax and the Buick Encore, demonstrating the global ambitions that manufacturers have for cars in the small crossover segment. Peugeot has said it will build the 2008 in France, China and Brazil, while Ford’s entrant, the EcoSport, is due in Europe next year. The EcoSport was first revealed in 2012 in both Brazil and India. Fiat is planning a crossover version of the Fiat 500, called the 500X, that will share a platform with a new subcompact Jeep. Both will be built in Melfi, central Italy. The small Jeep is the first model build for the brand in Europe since Magna Steyr stopped producing the Commander in Graz, Austria, in early 2010. Aside from Nissan, Asian brands have been slower to enter the segment. Honda has announced plans for a Jazzbased subcompact crossover, which is expected in 2015. IHS says Mazda, Toyota and Hyundai will introduce models in the same year.

Different designs
The striking Juke has opened other manufacturers’ eyes to the possibilities of the segment, but Opel/Vauxhall shied away from the Nissan’s more youthful styling when it designed the Mokka. “We wanted it to feel a little more grown up. The appeal of these types of vehicles in the bigger form is the matu-

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