VW trio, Toyota hybrid propel small SUVs

Small SUVs remain Europe's most popular car type after the first six months of the year, led by strong sales growth of the segment-topping Volkswagen T-Roc and Toyota Yaris Cross.

T-Roc sales grew 33 percent in the first half to retain the top spot with 103,063 registrations.

Meanwhile the Yaris Cross climbed to second from sixth after demand for the car, which is predominantly sold with Toyota's hybrid system, climbed by nearly 50 percent, according to preliminary figures from market researcher Dataforce (see table, below).

In total, 1.12 million small SUVs were registered in the first half, a rise of 17 percent on the same period last year. That closely tracks the overall European car market's 18 percent gain on the back of easing parts supply issues.

Small SUVs accounted for a 17 percent share of the total car market during the first half.

The model choice within the segment remains one of the largest in Europe with nearly 40 vehicle available and new entrants being added.

Debuting on the chart in the first half were the Jeep Avenger, which had nearly 11,000 sales, good enough for No. 22 on the list, and the Mitsubishi ASX, a rebadged Renault Captur that recorded 3,313 sales and finished the half at No. 27.

Multi-model segment

Small SUV demand is so strong that automakers divide up the segment into subcategories to offer more choice in each. Volkswagen is the leader here with three entrants: the entry T-Cross, sporty Taigo and T-Roc, which is the largest of the three. All three increase sales during the half.

Hyundai offers two options, the Kona and smaller Bayon, as does Ford with the Puma and EcoSport, which will be discontinued.

Opel/Vauxhall will continue with its dual-model strategy when it replaces the Crossland X next year to sell alongside the Mokka.

The segment continues to be dominated by combustion engines, with electric versions yet to make a big impact.

Gasoline models accounted for 68 percent of all small SUV sales in the first half, with full-electric variants lagging at just 4.9 percent.
 
Hybrid models accounted for 13 percent, while the segment's diesel share has fallen to just 7.8 percent.

The plug-in hybrid share fell to just 0.7 percent on the back of sliding demand for the two models that offer the drivetrain: the Jeep Renegade and Renault Captur, sales of which together fell 43 percent.

EV sales in the segment climbed 14 percent in the first half to 55,341 in total, driven mostly by higher demand for the second-placed Opel Mokka Electric. The Hyundai Kona Electric remained the best-selling electric car in the segment despite a 12 percent decline in demand ahead of the rollout of the next-generation model.

High prices continue to hold back demand for electric versions. In the U.K. the new battery-powered Kona will start at 34,995 pounds (40,750 euros, $44,750) for the entry 48-kilowatt-hour model. The UK is the second-largest car market in the region and the first in which Hyundai has revealed prices for the new Kona.

The Kona with the larger 65-kWh battery will start at 40,340 pounds. The entry Kona with a combustion engine will start at 25,725 pounds.
 
Honda's new electric entry into the market, the e:Ny1, is even more expensive starting at 44,995 pounds with a 68.8-kWh battery and 412 km (256 mile) range. The equivalent version with a combustion engine, the hybrid HR-V, starts from 30,115 pounds.

The budget electric option remains the MG ZS EV, which starts at 30,495 pounds for a 51-kWh battery, rising to 32,995 pounds for the variant with a 72.6-kWh battery.

MG, owned by China's SAIC, increased ZS sales by 118 percent in the first six months to place it 14th with 36,471 sales, moving it ahead of more established models such as the Citroen C3 Aircross, Kia Stonic and Fiat 500X.

However, the growth of the ZS has largely come from combustion engine models, which now account for about three-quarters of all ZS sales.

ZS EV sales rose only 19 percent in the period by comparison.

Jeep has also switched its focus to combustion engine versions of the Avenger, after launching it last year as primarily an electric model.

So far this year, only a fifth of Avenger sales have been electric after the Stellantis-owned brand broadened the market for the SUV's 1.2-liter combustion engine variant from just Italy and Spain to markets such as Germany, France and the UK.

The decision to expand sales of the gasoline Avenger was "pragmatic" and does not change the brand's long-term plan to sell only electric models in Europe by 2030, Jeep's Europe CEO, Eric Laforge, told Automotive News Europe.

Stellantis will also sell both combustion engine and electric versions of the upcoming Fiat 600, which was unveiled in July, in the small SUV segment. The 600 gives Fiat an electric offering alongside the aging Fiat 500X, which has been on sale since 2014.

The electric choice in the segment will broaden further next year with an EV version of the Ford Puma, which was the segment's No. 5-seller through six months.

With electric alternatives remaining high-cost, automakers are continuing to invest in combustion-driven models. Volkswagen Group CFO Arno Antlitz referenced the T-Roc as one of the combustion-engine models that are "highly profitable" for the group during a call with analysts on second-quarter earnings.

"They will create a significant amount of the cash flow to finance that transformation" to electric, he said.

VW brand head Thomas Schaefer said earlier this year that the T-Roc, due to be replaced within the next two years, will be one of the last combustion engine models to be launched by the brand in Europe.

The biggest growth in terms of drivetrain in the segment came from hybrids, which saw sales climb 35 percent to 150,039.

The largest portion of that increase came from the Toyota Yaris Cross, which added 60,599 new sales in the first six months.

Sales of the second-placed Renault Captur hybrid climbed a modest 8.5 percent, but the new Nissan Juke hybrid, which uses the same system as the Captur, posted sales of 12,844 to become the region's No. 3-selling hybrid.

The hybrid sector will grow further if Dacia adds a hybrid version of the new Duster, which is due next year. The Duster was the small SUV segment's No. 3-seller overall in the first half. Dacia has already introduced a hybrid version of the Jogger compact, which will share the CMF-B platform with the new Duster.