European sales of small SUVs in 2018 are poised to surge beyond the segment's typically strong growth, as new models persuade consumers to switch from traditional hatchbacks at a faster rate.
Analyst firm LMC Automotive expects an additional 400,000 sales to be tacked on to last year’s 1.4 million in the region as new small SUVs from Volkswagen Group, Citroen and Opel/Vauxhall each look set to break the 100,000 sales mark in 2018.
In the first three months, the VW T-Roc, Citroen C3 Aircross and Opel/Vauxhall Crossland X entered the charts in sixth, seventh and eighth places, respectively, each reaching sales of more than 25,000 during the quarter.
Meanwhile, the heavily revised Dacia Duster leapfrogged the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka to take third place with sales of 46,571, behind the leading Renault Captur and second place Peugeot 2008.
Just outside the top 10, the recently launched Seat Arona posted strong sales of 17,696 to put it just ahead of two more newcomers, the Kia Stonic and Hyundai Kona.