Automotive News Europe - September 2019 - 50

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

DATA

Headed the wrong way
Overall market declines despite continued growth for key SUV segments
LUCA CIFERRI

lciferri@autonews.com

uropean consumers' persistent appetite for SUVs and crossovers was no
longer enough to lift the overall European
market. In the first half, SUV/crossover
sales increased by 5.9 percent to slightly
more than 3 million units, boosting their
market share to a new high of 36.1 percent, up from 33.2 percent during the
same period last year.
Although 171,569 more SUVs and crossovers were sold from January to June, the
surge failed to overcome a combined loss
by sedans, station wagons, coupes, convertibles and minivans of 389,044 units,
down 6.7 percent to 5.42 million units
compared with the first half of 2018.
The end result is that the overall market
declined by 2.5 percent to 8.48 million
in the half, according to figures from
market researcher JATO Dynamics. An
analysis of the SUV/crossover sales

data shows that just three segments -premium compact, small and compact
-- grew while demand for larger SUVs from
non-premium brands declined 30 percent,
resulting in a segment that has nearly gone
extinct with a mere 5,423 sales in the half
(see chart, Page 51).
Demand for SUVs and crossovers also
continued to push Europe's minivan sales
to the brink. Demand for small minivans
fell 38 percent while compact minivan
sales decreased by 33 percent. "There's
no demand for minivans anymore. Everybody wants SUVs and crossovers," Kia
Europe COO Emilio Herrera told Automotive News Europe (see interview, Page
12), while also confirming the South Korean automaker would stop selling the
Venga and Carens minivans. It will be another hard hit to the body style because
the Venga ranked No. 3 in the small minivan segment while the Carens finished
the half at No. 9 in the compact minivan
segment (see complete tables, 52-55).

Segment winners H1 '19
1. Electric
2. Exotic
3. Premium Compact SUV & Crossover
4. Small SUV & Crossover
5. Car Derived Van
6. Midsize Premium
7. Compact SUV & Crossover

Segment losers H1 '19

88%
52%
18%
13%
6.2%
5.0%
1.8%

Source: ANE analysis of JATO Dynamics figures

1. Small Minivan
2. Premium Coupe
3. Compact Minivan
4. Large SUV & Crossover
5. Upper Premium
6. Midsize
7. Coupe & Convertible

-38%
-33%
-33%
-30%
-27%
-23%
-15%

European buyers are also walking away
from mass-market niche models such as
coupes and convertibles. ANE noticed
this trend years ago and decided to combine the volume coupe and convertible
niches into a single segment.
Premium brands had avoided the slowdown in for their niche derivatives until this
year. In the first half premium coupes lost
a third of their volume and convertibles declined by 12 percent. Price does not appear to be the core reason for the reduced
appetite for premium coupes and convertibles. Europe's exotic segment, which includes even pricier coupes and convertibles, was the second-best performer
percentage wise during the half, with sales
up by 52 percent to 10,436 units.
The recently launched BMW 8 series
jumped to the top of the segment, taking
a comfortable lead over the new Bentley

Largest segments H1 '19
1. Subcompact
2. Compact
3. Small SUV & Crossover
4. Compact SUV & Crossover
5. Minicar
6. Compact Premium
7. Premium Compact
SUV & Crossover
8. Car Derived Van
9. Midsize Premium
10. Premium Medium SUV
& Crossover

1,474,490
1,204,122
1,114,634
1,051,254
603,925
392,187
326,178
287,192
267,903
266,116

ANE_TPV_print ad_lighter&safer_PRINT.pdf 1 15. 04. 2019 11:42:15

www.autonewseurope.com

SEPTEMBER 2019

Automotive News Europe - September 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Europe - September 2019