Yesterday's chart didn't include premium C-segment entrants, but commenter Vega beat me to the punch in mentioning them.
The Audi A3, BMW 1-Series and Mercedes-Benz A-Class have been giving the mainstream marques major headaches in Europe for the same reason that mainstream makes with mid-size sedans are worried about the Mercedes-Benz CLA. Why would you have a Camry or an Accord when you could have the three-pointed star (at least that's the rationale in some people's minds)? Looking at the stats, the A3 and 1-Series would slot in at 4th and 5th place in yesterday's JATO rankings, while the A-Class would bump the Auris down a notch.
This effect is more pronounced in Europe, where mainstream brands have taken a beating. The only car makers that have flourished have been high end luxury brands (for obvious reasons) or low-cost brands that are appealing to value-conscious middle class consumers, and consequently stealing sales from mainstream brands. This is also why Renault is doing well (thanks to Dacia) while PSA, with only Peugeot and Citroen, is taking such a beating.
With a 1-Series or A-Class starting at around the same price as a fancy Golf, Megane or Focus, the consumer feels the same pull away from the mainstream, and into something more impressive. Unless you're Volkswagen- then you're just leveraging the efficiencies of MQB and laughing all the way to the bank, as both the A3 and Golf enjoy strong sales.
from The Truth About Cars http://ift.tt/Jh8LjA
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