The Honda CR-V, which led all other compact crossovers in sales for 2015 and came close to outselling the Accord, stumbled out of the gate in January as the Toyota RAV4 took the top spot.
The CR-V saw a 17 percent decrease over January 2015, dropping it to fourth behind the RAV4, the Nissan Rogue and the Ford Escape. The Rogue had a stellar month, with a 26 percent increase over January 2015.
Along with the CR-V, the Escape, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain were the only crossovers on the list to post sales declines over 2015.
At the bottom of the list, strong sales increases abounded, up to a month-best 79 percent increase for the Hyundai Tucson. The aging Jeep twins, the Compass and Patriot, continue to defy the odds and sell well, despite the fact that they will be discontinued. The Compass had an 18 percent increase while the Patriot had a nine percent increase.
For the month, however, based on statistics compiled by TFLcar, compact crossovers as a whole outsold midsize sedans by 20,000 units.
Compact Crossover Sales – January 2016
| Jan 2016 # | Dec 2015 # | Jan ’16/Dec ’15 % | Jan 2016/2015 | YTD 2016 # | YTD 2016/2015 % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota RAV4 | 21,554 | 31,866 | -32.4% | 8.7% | 21,554 | 8.7% |
| Nissan Rogue | 19,762 | 26,479 | -25.4% | 26.3% | 19,762 | 26.3% |
| Ford Escape | 19,219 | 27,954 | -31.2% | -4.2% | 19,219 | -4.2% |
| Honda CR-V | 19,208 | 31,185 | -38.4% | -17.2% | 19,208 | -17.2% |
| Chevrolet Equinox | 18,574 | 21,827 | -14.9% | -5.0% | 18,574 | -5.0% |
| Jeep Cherokee | 15,347 | 24,049 | -36.2% | 1.0% | 15,347 | 1.0% |
| Subaru Forester | 11,904 | 16,797 | -29.1% | 6.2% | 11,904 | 6.2% |
| GMC Terrain | 8,835 | 9,649 | -8.4% | -0.1% | 8,835 | -0.1% |
| Dodge Journey | 8,456 | 8,682 | -2.6% | 20.0% | 8,456 | 20.0% |
| Jeep Patriot | 8,273 | 11,206 | -26.2% | 9.0% | 8,273 | 9.0% |
| Mazda CX-5 | 7,063 | 11,417 | -38.1% | 28.6% | 7,063 | 28.6% |
| Hyundai Tucson | 5,218 | 8,311 | -37.2% | 71.9% | 5,218 | 71.9% |
| Jeep Compass | 5,089 | 8,825 | -42.3% | 18.0% | 5,089 | 18.0% |
| Kia Sportage | 4,803 | 6,044 | -20.5% | 57.3% | 4,803 | 57.3% |
| VW Tiguan | 2,528 | 4,900 | -48.4% | 71.6% | 2,528 | 71.6% |
| Mitsubishi Outlander | 1,543 | 1,936 | -20.3% | 53.8% | 1,543 | 53.8% |
Meanwhile, the Subaru Crosstrek took the sales lead in the subcompact crossover segment, narrowly beating out the Jeep Renegade.
The Crosstrek’s sales were nearly flat over January 2015, and the Renegade wasn’t on sale last January.
The Buick Encore had a strong month with a 42 percent increase to come in third place, and the Honda HR-V leapfrogged over the Chevrolet Trax to take fourth place.
With most of the models in this segment are too new to have comparable sales figures from 2015, it’s hard to say how the segment as a whole is faring, but only the GM twin, the Encore and the Trax, had sales increases over 2015 of the ones that were sold this time last year.
Subcompact Crossover Sales – January 2016
| Jan 2016 # | Dec 2015 # | Jan ’16/Dec ’15 % | Jan 2016/2015 | YTD 2016 # | YTD 2016/2015 % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subaru XV Crosstrek | 6,448 | 8,090 | -20.3% | -1.0% | 6,448 | -1.0% |
| Jeep Renegade | 6,362 | 8,975 | -29.1% | NEW | 6,362 | NEW |
| Buick Encore | 4,920 | 6,498 | -24.3% | 42.0% | 4,920 | 42.0% |
| Honda HR-V | 4,177 | 4,737 | -11.8% | NEW | 4,177 | NEW |
| Chevrolet Trax | 3,746 | 5,323 | -29.6% | 103.7% | 3,746 | 103.7% |
| Mitsubishi Outlander Sport | 2,233 | 3,356 | -33.5% | -1.5% | 2,233 | -1.5% |
| Nissan Juke | 1,510 | 1,958 | -22.9% | -24.5% | 1,510 | -24.5% |
| Mazda CX-3 | 1,375 | 1,663 | -17.3% | NEW | 1,375 | NEW |
| Fiat 500X | 1,018 | 1,996 | -49.0% | NEW | 1,018 | NEW |
| MINI Countryman | 504 | 2,148 | -76.5% | -32.3% | 504 | -32.3% |
Check out this TFLcar video of everything you want to know about the 2016 Toyota RAV4:
