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The B-SUV sector is the fastest growing part of the new car sector and with the launch of the Crossland X, Vauxhall dealers are now offering customers two different models
Naturally, when one car company opens up a new niche in the market, all its competitors will follow. The success of the Nissan Juke, launched in 2010, was a surprise (at least to some of us) but showed two things: first, that an SUV crossover could work in the B-sector, and second, that curious and, frankly, ugly styling can appeal to younger buyers looking for something out of the ordinary.
Car design and development takes a long time and only now has a full range of Juke competitors appeared. Meanwhile, small SUVs have become the hottest sector of the UK market. In 2010, they accounted for just 0.8% of the market; last year, the share was 8.3%. Everyone wants the youth market and a small, quirky SUV crossover on a favourable PCP is the proposition of the moment.
Small is a relative term and we all know that, over time, the cars in each sector grow in size. Twenty years ago, 4.0m was the length of an average C-sector car. Today, the industry classification for these B-sector SUV crossovers includes cars from 4.0 to 4.3m but there are some anomalies, like the new Toyota C-HR (4.36m) which seems more appropriate for the C-sector as a Nissan Qashqai rival.
B-SUVs are good business. They are priced on average 25% higher than the conventional hatchbacks on which they are based but are no more expensive to build. Of course, they are not really SUVs – Sport Utility Vehicles – in the practical sense. All are, in essence, front-wheel drive superminis and most do not even offer four-wheel drive. Where 4X4 versions are available, the take-up is small, typically around 5%. The Jeep Renegade is the exception here, with 14% of customers choosing four-wheel drive.
They are crossovers in that they resemble something they are not. The SUV style, stance and higher seating position are the selling points. But as sales increase and these cars move into the mainstream there is room for more variation on the theme.
When it was launched, the singular Juke took two-thirds of this emerging market sector. The latest figures from JATO shows that, seven years later, the Juke is still the best seller in the UK (Q1 2017). Its closest rival is the more conventional Vauxhall Mokka X and these two are way ahead of the Renault Captur in third place.
In 2016 the Mokka was the market leader, selling 41,689 compared with Juke’s 38,803. Across Europe, the Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008 were the top-sellers with the (Opel) Mokka in third place.
The motor industry can never have enough of a good thing, so now we are seeing manufacturers offering two different cars in the same sector. The Vauxhall Crossland X, launched this month, is the first example. Cheaper, and a touch smaller than the Mokka X, it is being positioned as the choice for young families who value interior space and low fuel consumption more than a sporty, aggressive image.
Sean Freeman, Vauxhall product manager for both Crossland and Mokka, sees the B-SUV sector dividing. The Crossland, he believes, will take business from the newly facelifted Captur and 2008, while the Mokka’s competition is at the higher end, cars like the Juke, Renegade and Skoda Yeti (or the upcoming Karoq), nudging the C-sector. He will not predict sales volume for the Crossland X but it seems certain that, when combined with the Mokka X, Vauxhall will be the clear leader in B-SUVs.
Until now, buyers have chosen these vehicles as something different that makes more of a personal statement than a run-of-the-mill hatchback. But the booming SUV market has also hastened the demise of the last motoring fad – the MPV. The Crossland X makes sense when you realise that, as well as being an additional B-SUV, it will replace the Meriva MPV in the Vauxhall range.
