SUVs and crossovers accounted for one-third of European sales during the first half for the first time. Their volume increased by almost 20 percent in a market that was up by just 2.5 percent. Only three non-SUV segments grew during the first six months.
- Driven by a 61 percent rise in demand for the second-generation Nissan Leaf, electric car sales grew by 37.7 percent to 105,736 units from January to June, figures from market researcher JATO Dynamics show.
- Strong performances from the Porsche Panamera, Audi A7 and BMW 6 GT boosted upper premium sales by 30.5 percent to 33,717 units.
- The Porsche 911, up by 77 percent to 9,338 units, and the Mercedes E class coupe, up 58 percent to 8,473, lifted the premium coupe segment by 3.1 percent to 68,438. This surge shows that European customers still like premium coupes, while the volume coupe segment is slowly disappearing. Sales of coupes from mass-market brands declined 34.3 percent in the first half to 7,797, mainly because Volkswagen phased out the segment’s former leader, the Scirocco. This change allowed the Ford Mustang to take the segment lead despite losing 26.2 percent of its volume. The Mustang also accounted for nearly 49 percent of the ailing segment’s total sales.