Small SUV Sales In America - March 2014 YTD

As a group, small SUV and crossover sales are growing at a rapid rate in the United States in 2014. Q1 sales shot up 17%, very nearly the kind of growth achieved in an even better month of March. At this time last year, smaller utility vehicles (from the first table in this post) generated 13.1% of the U.S. auto industry's Q1 sales. Fast forward back to real time, and the same vehicle segment generated 15.2% of the industry's Q1 2014 sales. 

The addition of the Jeep Cherokee helped. Compared with the Liberty's Q1 performance from 2013, sales are up 626%. But the bigger volume increases have come from small Japanese-brand crossovers which are either very new or still quite fresh. Mazda CX-5 sales are up by 8397 units this year, 16,152 extra Nissan Rogues have been sold, Subaru Forester sales are up by 14,246 units, and Toyota RAV4 volume has increased by 11,651 sales. 

• All Makes & Models Ranked By March 2014 YTD U.S. Sales
• All 85 SUVs & Crossovers Ranked By March 2014 & YTD U.S. Sales

From those four crossovers alone - not counting the fact that sales of the Honda CR-V, two lingering small Jeeps, the Kia Sportage, and Mitsubishi Outlander among others have all increased - there are 50,446 more sales than the same four crossovers collected in the first quarter of 2013. 

The fact that sales of the class-leading Ford Escape are down by 1678 units isn't troubling to the overall category: the Escape is simply losing market share to other players, not unlike the situation facing the Chevrolet Equinox/GMC Terrain, and the aging Volkswagen Tiguan.

As you can see above, GCBC has installed a new chart format above. It's interactive and expandable in the top right. 

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly U.S. auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page. These tables are now sortable, so you can rank smaller SUVs and crossovers any which way you like. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page.

Click Column Headers To Sort • April 2014 • February 2014 • March 2013

Small SUVs  & Crossovers	March 2014	March 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
Chevrolet Captiva Sport	4637	4576	1.3%	12,854	12,379	3.8%
Chevrolet Equinox	19,939	20,997	-5.0%	56,073	58,869	-4.7%
Dodge Journey	9125	7283	25.3%	23,024	22,992	0.1%
Ford Escape	28,701	28,934	-0.8%	71,305	72,983	-2.3%
GMC Terrain	9059	8454	7.2%	25,419	26,806	-5.2%
Honda CR-V	28,657	26,897	6.5%	67,648	65,374	3.5%
Honda Element	---	1	-100%	---	1	-100%
Hyundai Santa Fe *	9726	7116	36.7%	23,440	19,446	20.5%
Hyundai Tucson	4627	4073	13.6%	12,116	11,010	10.0%
Jeep Cherokee	13,796	---	---	36,096	---	---
Jeep Compass	5335	5111	4.4%	13,757	12,003	14.6%
Jeep Liberty	---	1408	-100%	---	4972	-100%
Jeep Patriot	8431	7420	13.6%	20,474	18,997	7.8%
Kia Sorento *	8671	10,005	-13.3%	23,006	25,955	-11.4%
Kia Sportage	3571	2680	33.2%	8827	7436	18.7%
Mazda CX-5	11,855	7116	66.6%	26,206	17,809	47.2%
Mitsubishi Outlander	1466	917	59.9%	3613	2953	22.4%
Nissan Rogue	19,420	15,381	26.3%	50,448	34,296	47.1%
Subaru Forester	13,846	9050	53.0%	35,390	21,144	67.4%
Suzuki Grand Vitara	---	407	-100%	---	1037	-100%
Toyota RAV4	19,733	16,474	19.8%	53,064	41,413	28.1%
Volkswagen Tiguan	2315	3304	-29.9%	6111	7951	-23.1%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	222,910	187,604	18.8%	568,871	485,826	17.1%

Smallest SUVs & Crossovers	March 2014	March 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
Buick Encore *	5279	3003	75.8%	10,723	4953	116%
Mini Countryman *	1861	1761	5.7%	4305	4839	-11.0%
Mini Paceman *	169	169	0.0%	406	169	140%
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport *	3264	2442	33.7%	7450	5436	37.0%
Nissan Juke *	6943	3916	77.3%	15,582	9106	71.1%
Subaru XV Crosstrek *	6585	4688	40.5%	16,875	10,710	57.6%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	24,101	15,979	50.8%	55,341	35,213	57.2%

Offroaders	March 2014	March 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
Jeep Wrangler *	14,481	12,901	12.2%	34,674	31,846	8.9%
Nissan Xterra *	2132	2913	-26.8%	5445	4890	11.3%
Toyota FJ Cruiser *	1484	764	94.2%	3912	3351	16.7%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	18,097	16,578	9.2%	44,031	40,087	9.8%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
* vehicle also displayed in another GCBC segment breakdown
GCBC isn't here to break down segments, an impossible task for any group, but to display sales data for the sake of comparison. The more ways sales data can be displayed, the better, right? This explains why you'll see the Encore and XV Crosstrek are listed with small cars, too, and the tweener-sized Sorento and Santa Fe are shown with midsize SUVs and small SUVs, and the pricey FJ Cruiser and Xterra with midsizers, as well... because readers have wanted it both ways. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts. GCBC has historically shown the Liberty with midsize SUVs but as the Cherokee - truly not midsize inside - replaces the Liberty, proper year-over-year comparison requires seeing the Liberty listed here with these smaller utility vehicles.

RECOMMENDED READING
Small SUV Sales In America - April 2014 YTD
Small SUV Sales In America - February 2014 YTD
Small SUV Sales In America - March 2013 YTD
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - March 2014
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - March 2014 YTD
Midsize SUV Sales In America - March 2014 YTD