Chart Of The Day: Europe's C-Segment In 2013, And Why Peugeot Isn't Coming Back To America

Today’s chart of the day comes courtesy of JATO Dynamics and Automotive News Europe, showing last year’s C segment car sales in Europe (click to enlarge).

While ANE reported the data in the context of the Volkswagen Golf’s (undeniable) dominance of the C-segment, the remaining data provides a lot of insight into the global automotive landscape.

• Per JATO, Ford sold about 223,000 units of the Focus in Europe last year – but in the United States alone, they sold 234,570. What does that say about the strength and size of the American market (where compacts are a big segment, but dwarfed by mid-size sedans, pickup trucks and CUVs), or the relative smallness of Europe’s market, which has substantially more brands and nameplates vying for a smaller piece of the pie
• Vauxhall/Opel may be struggling to stay afloat, but the Astra is a perpetually strong seller for the brand, while the Chevrolet Cruze doesn’t even rank in the top 10. Then again, the different Golf variants (SEAT Leon, Skoda Octavia) are absent too.
• Both Toyota and Honda have a lower profile in Europe than in America, but the Auris seems to have resonated strongly with European consumers. Not only is it beating the Peugeot 308 and Citroen C4, but also the Hyundai i30 (Elantra GT) and Kia Cee’d, which have been giving VAG a fright in key markets like the Czech Republic, as well as winning critical acclaim from the European motoring press. The Civic languishes in 10th place, selling about 50,000 units. You can bet that Nissan is looking to pick it off as it prepares to ramp up its own C-segment entrant.
• Combined sales of the PSA twins (Peugeot 308 and Citroen C4) add up to about 178,000 units, while Hyundai and Kia’s combined sales equal about 185,000 units. Would you have expected this to happen a decade ago? If anything, it shows why the blogosphere talk of PSA returning to America is bunk (nevermind that it was merely wish fulfillment based on comments by CEO Carlos Tavares taken out of context). PSA doesn’t even have their house in order at home. They aren’t going to spend billions to return to a market that likes to buy the kind of products they don’t build.
• Back to the Auris. It’s coming here as a Scion. And it’s supposed to be a great driving car. On the other hand, there won’t be a Toyota-badged car to replace the Matrix.