There isn’t much in the car industry that’s guaranteed, but a boom in sales of baby SUVs seems to be one thing that is. Figures put together by analysts at Credit Suisse show that sales of this hitherto niche vehicle are set to boom - which explains why Land Rover is evaluating an £18k baby SUV.
In 2000 the B-segment SUV market achieved just 357,000 sales worldwide. It bounced up to 505,000 in 2004 before drifting back to just 287,000 units in the deep recession of 2009. In 2010 it jumped to 546,000 units and then to 874,000 units in 2011.
A significant chunk of 330,000 units gained was accounted for by the Mini Countryman, a car that was an instant hit in the showroom and accounts for nearly a third of all Mini sales.
Credit Suisse analysts think that the global market for baby SUVs will rocket to 2.7 million units worldwide by 2020. And the total global market could be even bigger, because these sales apply to car makers from Europe, Japan, the US and South Korea.
Local entries from Chinese and Indian car makers — such as the proposed SUVs being developed by Land Rover with Tata and Chery — would only add to the Credit Suisse estimates.
Clearly, Land Rover can’t afford to ignore this boom, especially now that Audi has shown its hand with the Crosslane Coupé and BMW is certain to replace the BMW X1 with a smaller model based on its new front-wheel drive platform.
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Suzuki Jimny
If they could make it with similar proportions (ie not too wide), but a higher quality, more robust better handling (both on and off road), they will sell like hotcakes. The Suzuki has been going for 15 years, such is its popularity. With the brand strenght of Land Rover, I can imagine this being very trendy in the city and a bit of a weapon on proper off roading where something the size and weight of a Range Rover is often a bit excessive. Light and nimble, powerful with a proper 4x4 system, hill descent, locking diffs, front winch.. etc would make this a hell of a car, especially if it were priced under £25k with a few choice options.