Automotive News Europe - April 2020 - 18

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

AUTOMAKERS

Midsize market mover
Tesla Model 3 carries key segment to a 21% increase but still trails German rivals
NICK GIBBS

ngibbs@crain.com

he Tesla Model 3's arrival in Europe
last year helped boost sales in the
midsize premium segment by more than
a fifth as the full-electric car shook up a
segment dominated by BMW, MercedesBenz and Audi.
"The Model 3 was the main reason for the
growth of the segment," said Felipe Munoz,
global analyst with market researcher JATO
Dynamics. Munoz pointed out that the
segment's rise closely mirrored the 2019
sales total for the Model 3, which currently
has no direct rivals. "It proves that a new
technology with a reasonable price can
bring back the attention of customers who
shifted to SUVs," he said.
The Model 3 finished in fourth place for
the year with a volume of 94,482, according to JATO data. Making this result
even more impressive was that the Model 3 is only offered as a sedan in a segment where the three cars ahead of it in
the ranking all also offer wagon variants
because of strong demand for the body

type from midsize premium buyers. LMC
Automotive senior analyst Sammy Chan
cautioned that Model 3 sales are likely
to be hit by the arrival of Tesla's Model Y
midsize SUV, due in 2021.
The hit could be offset if midsize premium
sedans and wagons get a boost because
of regulatory reasons. "There is a chance
that automakers would push more conventional models such as sedans over
SUVs should they really struggle to meet
the tighter emission standards over the
next couple of years," Chan said.
Another factor affecting the segment is
the coronavirus pandemic. Following the
Tesla-fueled 21 percent jump to 542,000
in 2019, the segment is at risk of declining by 14 percent to 467,000 this year,
LMC forecasts. The firm expects the
segment to rebound to 536,000 in 2021
and reach 555,000 units in 2022.

Plug-in push
The rise of electrified models had a big
effect on the segment's leaderboard. If
plug-in hybrid sales were excluded the

Mercedes C-Class, despite nearing the
end of its life cycle at five years on the
market, topped the sector with a gain of
3.6 percent. It was followed by the newgeneration BMW 3 Series, which grew
sales by 16 percent. With plug-in hybrids
included, BMW takes over the No. 1 spot
(see table, Page 19). That is because
the BMW 330e, with a volume of nearly
10,000 units, accounted for almost half
of all plug-in hybrid sales in the segment.
Meanwhile, sales of Mercedes' C-Class
hybrid declined by 27 percent compared
with 2018. Audi's A4, which has been on
the market for four years, lost sales, and
finished No. 3 despite an 11 percent decline in sales.
Rounding out the segment's top five was
the Volvo V60, which far surpassed IHS
Markit's 2019 forecast of 42,700 sales
with a 26 percent year-on-year rise to
52,200 for the wagon, which debuted in
2018. When the V60's volume is combined with its sedan sibling, the S60, and
plug-in hybrid sales are also included,
Volvo's midsize family grew by 33 percent last year to more than 65,000.

The Tesla Model 3 debuted at No. 4 in Europe's highly competitive midsize premium segment.

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APRIL 2020

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Automotive News Europe - April 2020

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