Jeep’s brand-new Renegade is turning out to be a winner, storming into second place in subcompact crossover sales for August as Honda’s HR-V falls.
The Italian-made Renegade sold over 8,000 times in August, second only to the Subaru XV Crosstrek, a car that may or may not even belong in this class as it’s based off of the compact Impreza platform, although it’s smaller than the Forester that competes in the compact crossover class.
The little Jeep increased 29 percent over July 2015, the largest increase of any subcompact that sold in decent numbers. The MINI Paceman was up almost 200 percent, but it’s yearly sales would still put it at the back of the pack for August monthly sales.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Honda HR-V’s sales dropped nearly 33 percent over July. After storming out of the gate after its introduction in May, the big Fit has dropped off, its star a bit tarnished after some generally unfavorable reviews in the automotive press. Honda may need to do a serious refresh for the 2017 model year if sales continue to slip.
The GM twins – the Chevrolet Trax and the Buick Encore – continue to sell well despite a slight drop over July for both. The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, a car that, like the Subaru, is based on a compact-car platform but with subcompact crossover dimensions – also is selling surprisingly well, especially considering its age.
The Nissan Juke – one of the first in this class – finally had an up month, but is down significantly for the year. Still, Nissan has confirmed that there will be a second generation Juke, so maybe they can address some of the current Juke’s shortcomings to be more competitive in this class.
Subcompact Crossover Sales – August 2015
| Aug 2015 # | Aug ’15/July ’15 % | Aug ’15/’14 % | YTD 2015 # | YTD ’15/’14 % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subaru XV | 8,799 | 2.6% | 6.7% | 59,324 | 22.0% |
| Jeep Renegade | 8,156 | 29.1% | NEW | 28,907 | NEW |
| Buick Encore | 6,286 | -7.9% | 29.2% | 43,661 | 34.0% |
| Chevrolet Trax | 5,985 | -2.1% | NEW | 36,911 | NEW |
| Honda HR-V | 4,567 | -22.7% | NEW | 24,671 | NEW |
| Mitsubishi Outlander Sport | 3,286 | 1.4% | 14.5% | 24,421 | 17.4% |
| Nissan Juke | 2,360 | 0.6% | 3.0% | 19,354 | -36.4% |
| MINI Countryman | 1,398 | 16.2% | -42.0% | 10,879 | -28.5% |
| Fiat 500X | 1,029 | 7.0% | NEW | 1,999 | NEW |
| Mazda CX-3 | 698 | NEW | NEW | 698 | NEW |
| MINI Paceman | 282 | 196.8% | 23.7% | 1,215 | -6.8% |
Check out this TFLcar off road video of the 2015 Jeep Renegade:
