Small SUVs widen lead over small cars; EVs increase share in key segments

The small SUV segment consolidated its market-leading position in Europe in 2022, increasing its lead over small cars amid a further swing away from traditional body shapes, new figures show.

Led by Volkswagen, Dacia and Peugeot, small SUVs posted sales of 1.89 million in 2022, according to data market researcher Dataforce, a 1.4 percent increase on 2021 in a year that saw overall sales fall by 5.7 percent as supply chain problems hampered production.

The segment was topped by the VW T-Roc, ahead of the Dacia Duster. The small SUVs finished at No. 3 and No. 9, respectively, in the full-year ranking of overall by-model sales in Europe last year.

A big driver of the growth in the segment was the Toyota Yaris Cross, which added almost 110,000 sales to the category to take fourth position behind the Peugeot 2008.

The small car segment, meanwhile, slumped 13 percent to 1.63 million as automakers redirected their attention toward more profitable models.

The segment-leading Peugeot 208 was one the few models to increase full-year sales, which helped it overtake the VW Golf to become Europe’s best-selling car in the process.

However, almost all other models in the small car segment had sales declines, led by the fifth-placed Renault Clio, which lost more than 50,000 sales compared with the year before. The segment is expected to decline further in 2023 as Ford winds down production of the ninth-placed Fiesta.

The small car sector’s steep decline coupled with an 11 percent increase for compact SUVs meant that the utility vehicles came within roughly 17,000 units behind small cars last year, with the Hyundai Tucson retaining its No. 1 position ahead of the Kia Sportage.

Powered by EVs

Sales of electric cars were behind the two biggest segment growth stories of the year.

The midsize premium SUV segment expanded 20 percent to 641,417, overtaking compact premium SUVs to make it Europe’s largest premium segment. The big increase was driven by strong demand for the Tesla Model Y.

The Model Y, supplied by both Tesla’s new factory in Berlin and its Shanghai plant, became the biggest selling premium car in Europe with sales of 137,895, up from 26,627 the year before.

Model Y sales were double that of the next most popular model in the segment, the Mercedes-Benz GLC, and helped take the segment’s EV share to 41 percent against a European total share for EVs of 14 percent.

Another EV the helped boost the segment was the Audi Q4 E-tron, which was No. 2-selling EV in the category with a volume of 28,796, up 56 percent on the year before.

The luxury sedan segment, meanwhile, led the way in 2022 by having largest EV share in Europe at 55 percent, according to Dataforce. Sales of the segment-leading Porsche Taycan continued to grow and the full-electric Mercedes EQS moved into third place, just behind its more conventionally powered sibling, the S-Class. Also joining the segment last year were the BMW i7, Nio ET7 and Lucid Air.

Electric sales however were much less concentrated in the more affordable segments.

Only 6.2 percent of the small SUVs sold last year were battery powered, while just 1.1 percent of compact SUVs were electric. For small cars the electric share was just 7 percent while compacts were higher at 17 percent, led by the VW ID3 and followed by the Kia Niro and Renault Megane E-Tech.

Among the affordable categories, the minicar segment remains the stand-out for EVs with a 27 percent share thanks to growing sales of the Fiat New 500, up 49 percent at 66,260, and the Dacia Spring, up 76 percent to 48,540.

Sales of EVs in the category, however, fell 5.5 percent last year after Volkswagen Group stopped sales of the full-electric versions of the Seat Mii and Skoda Citigo and slowed those of the related VW e-Up. The electric share was boosted by the reduction in combustion-engine models available, with the exit of the Peugeot 108, Citroen C1, as the combustion-powered Mii and Citigo variants.

The main EV entry point for mainstream automakers continues to be the midsize SUV segment, which allows them to sell a more globally relevant car.

The category saw the second-largest EV penetration of any sector after premium midsize SUVs at 44 percent, led by the VW ID4 at 68,436, up 25 percent, and followed by the Skoda Enyaq iV, up 11 percent.

Newcomers in the category included the Nissan Ariya, VW ID5 coupe-crossover, Toyota bZ4X and related Subaru Solterra.

Of the electrified sales, those for plug-in hybrids fell 2.2 percent in the year at 1.02 million, accounting for 9 percent of the overall European sales, according to the Dataforce figures.

The outright plug-in hybrid winner was the Ford Kuga with sales of 57,968, up 25 percent, helped in part by manufacturer incentives as Ford sought to reduce its CO2 average ahead of this year’s launch of its compact electric SUV that will be underpinned by VW MEB platform.

The plug-in hybrid variants that made big sales gains in 2022 included the Hyundai Tucson compact SUV, up 61 percent to 29,857, and the Lynk & CO 01 compact SUV, up 43 percent to 26,260.

Sales of hybrids meanwhile closed in on plug-in hybrids with a total volume of 985,948, up 21 percent, led by the Toyota Yaris small car and Yaris Cross small SUV.

Toyota took the top five places in hybrid sales, with the Hyundai Tucson sixth and Renault Arkana seventh.

Gasoline remained Europe’s overall powertrain winner with 47 percent of sales across the region last year, led by the VW T-Roc.

Diesel now stands at 18 percent of sales, headed by the VW Tiguan compact SUV. VW Group models took seven of the top 10 diesel spots, with Peugeot gaining the other three.