The mid-size SUV segment is one of the fastest growing classes in Europe, but General Motors is largely missing out on the recent boom. GM offers the Opel/Vauxhall Antara (Saturn Vue in the U.S.) and Chevrolet Captiva in the mid-size SUV segment in Europe, but those vehicles have been lagging against the competition.
In Opel’s home country of Germany, the Antara is trailingother SUVs in the segment by a wide margin. According to Automotive News, Opel only manged to move 7,051 Antaras while the segment-leading Toyota RAV4 tallied 16,179 sales. Moreover, Opel’s offering even lagged behind automakers with fewer dealers and a smaller market share. During 2007, Suzuki sold 7,249 Grand Vitaras in Germany and Honda sold 9,789 CR-Vs.
That trend also holds true for Europe as a whole. GM sold 29,235 Captivas and 23,879 Antaras in 2007 — according to JATO Dynamics — while Honda sold 68,562 CR-Vs and Toyota sold 90,329 RAV4s.
The bad news for GM is that help is not on the way. Because the Captiva and Antara just received an overhaul in late 2006, an update isn’t scheduled until at least mid-2009. GM also had problems delivering diesel versions of the SUVs in early 2007, which hurt sales. The Opel Antara is probably in the worst shape of the trio as Opel will be concentrating its marketing efforts on the launch of the upcoming Insignia sedan.
