The market share of B and C segments remained stable in Europe
- The European passenger car automotive market has declined over the last three years (2020-2021-2022) but it seems that B and C segments cars have been the most impacted in terms of volume. However, in terms of market share, these two segments have held up well, since they have been stable over the past three years, at around 35% of the European market for each segment.
- However, it can be observed that since 2021, the market share of B-segment car sales has caught up with the C-segment, no doubt due to the development of B-segment SUVs. The stability of the C-segment hides the fact that sales of sedans in this segment have declined significantly regarding the strong growth of SUVs.
- Compared to the Chinese market, the European market is more a small car market, with the B and C segments having 70% of the market in Europe and only 40% in China.
- Sales of D-segment cars have fallen from 20% of the European market in the early 2000s to 15% in 2022, but this market share has been stable for five years, again with growth of SUV sales and a decline of sedans.
- Sales of A-segment and E-segment cars have each fallen from 10% to 6% in 2022, but while E-segment sales have remained stable for the past five years, A-segment sales continue to decline due to the gradual disappearance of cars from this segment in Europe.