SUV Sales in Europe to Jump 20% This Year

A bevy of new SUV/crossovers from Volkswagen Group and PSA Group is helping to expand the segment’s volume 20% to a record 1.8 million unit in 2017, LMC Automotive says.

The market analysis firm predicts Europe’s demand for SUVs will surpass 2 million units by 2020 and capture more than one-third of the passenger vehicle market there in 2021. JATO Dynamics adds that Europe’s five best-selling crossovers so far this year are the Nissan Qashqai, VW Tiguan, Peugeot 3008, Hyundai Tucson and Ford Kuga.

JATO notes that the popularity of small SUVs is bolstering revenue and profits, because the average selling price of such vehicles is more than 20% greater than the average price for compact cars.

Automotive News Europe points out that new entries in the small crossover segment are being introduced by Opel (Grandland X), Citroen (C5 Aircross), Jeep (Compass), Skoda (Karoq) and Mitsubishi Motors (Eclipse Cross).