Photo: Ford
For the first time in 8 years, Europe's favorite vehicle segment might end its sales reign in 2014 due to the rising demand for lifestyle-oriented small crossovers. Forecasts hint that subcompact car sales will fall to 2.64 million this year from 2.72 million units moved in 2013.
According to IHS Automotive, compact car sales are expected to hike to 2.76 million from 2.57 million last year, while the B-segment's share of total EU car sales will drop to 22.7 percent from almost 28 percentage points it had in 2003, the record year when over 4 million subcompact vehicles have been sold.
Automotive intelligence supplier JATO Dynamics tells that in the first quarter of 2014, the Ford Fiesta sold 85,733 units, closely followed by the Renault Clio (74k) and Volkswagen Polo (73k). The Romanian-made Dacia Sandero showed the biggest rise in sales compared to the first quarter of 2013 (67 percent difference).
It's sort of funny, but subcompact car sales are slowing down because of cannibalization between similarly sized models from the same manufacturer. The Renault Clio and the Clio-based Renault Captur, as well as the Peugeot 208 and 208-based Peugeot 2008 are some of the biggest victims of sales cannibalization. The IHS predicts that B-segment SUVs will account for 600,000 sales by 2015.
However, subcompact car sales are also expected to bounce back by 2016 thanks to the arrival of new-generation models. The Vauxhall/Opel Corsa will be renewed next year, while the aging Fiat Punto, Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo will get new generations in 2016.
Automotive intelligence supplier JATO Dynamics tells that in the first quarter of 2014, the Ford Fiesta sold 85,733 units, closely followed by the Renault Clio (74k) and Volkswagen Polo (73k). The Romanian-made Dacia Sandero showed the biggest rise in sales compared to the first quarter of 2013 (67 percent difference).
It's sort of funny, but subcompact car sales are slowing down because of cannibalization between similarly sized models from the same manufacturer. The Renault Clio and the Clio-based Renault Captur, as well as the Peugeot 208 and 208-based Peugeot 2008 are some of the biggest victims of sales cannibalization. The IHS predicts that B-segment SUVs will account for 600,000 sales by 2015.
However, subcompact car sales are also expected to bounce back by 2016 thanks to the arrival of new-generation models. The Vauxhall/Opel Corsa will be renewed next year, while the aging Fiat Punto, Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo will get new generations in 2016.
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