Small SUV Sales In Canada - December 2015 And 2015 Year End

During the latter portion of 2015, Canadians were buying more SUVs and crossovers than cars, a startling figure given that just one year ago, cars outsold SUVs/CUVs by a 1.3-to-1 count. 

And to discovery why it is that Canadians are buying so many SUVs and crossovers, look no further than this most popular SUV/crossover category: the compacts, led by the Ford Escape. 

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Canada Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - 2015 Year End
Canada SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - 2015 Year End

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True, Escape volume plunged 9% in Canada in 2015. The GMC Terrain and Jeep Compass lost sales, too. But every other competitor sold more often in 2015 than in 2013, from the 41% and 57% gains of the Jeep Cherokee and Patriot to the Hyundai Tucson's 38% uptick, the Nissan Rogue's 24% leap forward, and the Toyota RAV4's 15% gain. This group of vehicles produced 16.8% of the Canadian auto industry's volume in 2014; their market share jumped to 18% in 2015. 

The gains likely would have been greater were it not for the continued rise of subcompact crossovers, led in 2015 by the Honda HR-V. The HR-V didn't arrive until the end of the first half of the year, yet during the final 6+ months, Honda sold more HR-Vs than its top-selling rivals managed in the full 12 months of 2015. 

Click Chart To Expand

That's a feat. And the HR-V, together with additional sales from the Fiat 500X, Jeep Renegade, Mazda CX-3, and expanding volume from established players like the Nissan Juke and Subaru XV Crosstrek, the segment jumped 56% in 2015. Popular? Somewhat. The category, collectively, managed slightly more sales than the Ford Escape.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly Canadian 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 small 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 • January 2016 • November 2015 • December 2014

Small SUVs  & Crossovers	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Chevrolet Equinox	1558	1386	12.4%	19,766	19,559	1.1%
Dodge Journey	2257	1548	45.8%	25,646	24,715	3.8%
Ford Escape	3159	3314	-4.7%	47,726	52,198	-8.6%
GMC Terrain	786	685	14.7%	10,844	11,524	-5.9%
Honda CR-V	2478	4603	-46.2%	38,961	37,684	3.4%
Hyundai Tucson	813	515	57.9%	16,362	11,856	38.0%
Jeep Cherokee	2886	1938	48.9%	31,833	22,529	41.3%
Jeep Compass	339	154	120%	3729	5808	-35.8%
Jeep Patriot	530	361	46.8%	9372	5959	57.3%
Kia Sportage	414	230	80.0%	6509	6025	8.0%
Mazda CX-5	1714	1347	27.2%	22,281	19,920	11.9%
Mitsubishi Outlander	425	339	25.4%	6108	5330	14.6%
Nissan Rogue	2620	2098	24.9%	35,841	28,827	24.3%
Subaru Forester	1067	906	17.8%	12,706	12,302	3.3%
Toyota RAV4	2949	2624	12.4%	42,246	36,639	15.3%
Volkswagen Tiguan	965	561	72.0%	11,459	10,096	13.5%
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Total	24,960	22,609	10.4%	341,389	310,971	9.8%

Subcompact SUVs & Crossovers	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Buick Encore *	285	647	-56.0%	4915	5683	-13.5%
Chevrolet Trax *	590	470	25.5%	8156	8533	-4.4%
Fiat 500X *	56	---	---	609	---	---
Honda HR-V *	779	---	---	8959	---	---
Jeep Renegade	310	---	---	2261	---	---
Mazda CX-3 *	687	---	---	6861	---	---
Mini Countryman *	84	95	-11.6%	1412	1786	-20.9%
Mitsubishi RVR *	364	429	-15.2%	5786	6594	-12.3%
Nissan Juke *	271	178	52.2%	4473	3641	22.9%
Subaru XV Crosstrek *	599	349	71.6%	8422	6922	21.7%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	4025	2168	85.6%	51,854	33,159	56.4%

Offroaders	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
Jeep Wrangler *	1215	1396	-13.0%	20,880	23,057	-9.4%
Nissan Xterra *	103	63	63.5%	1707	991	72.3%
Toyota FJ Cruiser *	---	5	-100%	8	618	-98.7%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	1318	1464	-10.0%	22,595	24,666	-8.4%

Source: Automakers & Global Automakers Of Canada
* 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. This explains why you'll see the Encore and XV Crosstrek are listed with small cars, too, 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.

RECOMMENDED READING
Small SUV Sales In Canada - January 2016
Small SUV Sales In Canada - November 2015 YTD
Small SUV Sales In Canada - December 2014 & Year End
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In Canada - December 2015
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - December 2015 & Year End
Midsize SUV Sales In Canada - December 2015 & Year End