Sales: Compact Crossovers, February 2011
March 13th, 2011 1:58 PM
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Unlike a number of segments, the Compact Crossover space has a fairly well-established order. And with no new products in this segment on tap for this year, it’s hard to see this ranking changing too much in the next 12 months or so. Still, the C-CUV is becoming an increasingly important segment, and even if automakers aren’t stealing much share from each other here, all the major models are improving their sales. Could this be the segment where everyone wins?
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I can't see how the Equinox/Terrain can be considered "compact". They're huge especially compared to things like the Escape and the Rav4.
Think of this as the max utility segment. And I suspect, though don't have stats, that a buyer in this segment is likely to stay within it, because there's no arguing the value-consumer appeal offered here. If you wonder what killed the station wagon, I'd say it's this segment. And some of them are decent albeit straight line performers. My brother owns a RAV 4, his is actually a V6, and he claims it's Toyota's quickest production car 0-60. Don't know if that's true or not, but he is a stealthy BMW terror at stop lights and on entry ramps.
I think the "compact" CUV category has little to nothing to do with physical size, capacity, or utility; it is compact pricing. Many of the hot-ticket CUVs are in the $30k price range. The "compact" CUVs are below that. Of this top-sellers list the Juke probably sets the price floor and either the Rogue or Terrain set the price ceiling. Most of these models will likely sell low/mid $20s. That the Escape still does so well is probably because it averages out toward the lower end of the price range for the above models.
It's a sad day when Nissan Juke outsells Mazda CX-7. Even if Mazda's smiling face isn't your cup of tea, it's far better than Juke's fugly face.