Volkswagen beats Jeep in the SUV segment

By George  Guimarães | Translated by Jorge Meditsch

The Brazilian sport utility vehicle market – responsible for four of ten passenger cars sold in the country – has been largely dominated by Jeep since the Renegade and the Compass began to be produced here in the last decade. Nonetheless, this hegemony risks ending.

For the first time in many months, the North American brand owned by Stellantis did not appear in the lead among SUVs in January. Considering its two main models and the Commander, Jeep sold 8,477 vehicles in the month, 18% of the segment. It lost to Volkswagen, although very closely.

Also offering three national models, the German brand had 8,738 units licensed, 18.5% of the more than 47.1 thousand sport-utilities sold last month. VW’s best-seller was the T-Cross (4.4 thousand), third in the segment after the leader, the Chevrolet Tracker (5.3 thousand), and the Hyundai Creta (5 thousand).

Ex SUV leaders in 2021, the Compass was only fourth placed in January with 4.1 thousand registers, and the Renegade was sixth, with 3,049 units. Stellantis said the Renegade’s timid performance in the last months is due to production difficulties in Goiana, PE, caused by components shortage.

Part of the difficulties can also be attributed to “friendly fire”. Fiat, Jeep’s sister brand in Stellantis, was third in January, with 12.1%. And did it with compact models, exactly like the Renegade, which went from first place in 2021 to fifth place last year.

Fiat’s first SUV in history, the Pulse, was launched in 2021, and the second, the Fastback, in the last quarter of last year. The brand’s share in the segment jumped from 1% two years ago to 8.7% in 2022, when it was the fifth best-selling brand in the segment.