Premium brands push volume rivals from profit-rich niches

Premium automakers continued to push volume rivals out of profit-rich niches such as coupes and convertibles last year. Europe’s total coupe sales grew by 6.9 percent to 150,160 units, but all of the growth came from premium brands. The result is that premium automakers controlled two-thirds of the niche in Europe.

In the convertible segments, premium automakers were flat at 81,361 units in 2014, while volume brands declined 20 percent to 65,739 units. That means premium convertibles outsold volume convertibles for the first time since Automotive News Europe and JATO Dynamics started tracking the segments in 2003.

The decline of the volume coupe and convertible segments is starting to cause automakers to slash models with those body styles from their lineups. Some of the victims include the Renault Laguna coupe and possibly the Megane cabriolet; VW will end production of its Eos folding hardtop convertible by mid-year and Peugeot will have a single successor for the 207CC and 308CC models.