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Volkswagen’s “TNT” blasts SUV competition

T-Cross, Nivus and Taos were 18% of the segment until October

By George Guimarães | 11/9/23 | Translated by Jorge Meditsch

More than 45% of the automobiles sold in Brazil, SUVs accumulated more than 625 thousand deliveries from January through October with a 12.5% growth, while the passenger cars sales average increased by 9.5%. With so much weight in the market, the segment offer and the dispute for consumers keep growing.

Jeep knows well what it means. After the October results, it will almost certainly lose the lead among SUVs for the first time since it started national production in 2015.

Jeep sold 106.3 thousand units in the first ten months, 3.5% less than last year, and its share fell from 19.8% to 17%.

Unless something exceptional happens in the last two months of the year, the highest position on the SUVs’ podium in 2023 should be occupied by Volkswagen, which has led the segment since July, when it overcame Jeep.

Volkswagen’s advantage – now 18% – kept growing in the last three months and is now over 6.2 thousand units after more than 13,5 thousand deliveries in the last month, which contributed to the 112.5 thousand VW SUVs negotiated in 2023.

In practice, both brands dispute the segment with three models each. The great difference is that the Volkswagen trio (T-Cross, Nivus and Taos) show ascending figures this year, as the Jeep models sold less.

While the T-Cross follows the market’s growing index, leading with 58.1 thousand units and shall repeat its 2020 feat, when it was the bestseller SUV in Brazil, the Taos (12.4 thousand) advanced by 35%, and the Nivus, with 42 thousand deliveries jumped 41%, going from 29.8 thousand units i the first ten months of 2022 to 42 thousand this year.

On the other side, the Compass (49.4 thousand), Renegade (40 thousand), and the top-of-line Commander (17 thousand) sold from 3% to 4% less.

Jeep’s first national product and the country’s bestseller SUV in 2019 and 2021, the Renegade ended 2022 in fifth place and is currently eighth in the sport-utilities ranking.

A sign that the avalanche of compact SUVs launched over the last two years strongly hit the cheaper Jeep model. And even with friendly fire.

Pulse and Fastback, two models from Fiat, Jeep’s sister brand in the Stellantis group, already account for 11.1% of SUV sales. Last year, their accumulated share was 8.7% and, in 2021, Fiat scored only 1% with the Pulse, on the dealers for just two months.

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George Guimarães

Jornalista com passagens por jornais, revistas, tevê e assessoria de imprensa, é especializado na cobertura do setor automotivo há trinta anos, período em que já viu (quase) de tudo da indústria, seus produtos, mercado, cadeia produtiva, tecnologias e políticas industriais.

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