When the new Volkswagen Polo was revealed last week, the Wolfsburg automaker confirmed that the sixth-generation hatchback would no longer be available in three-door guise (although it’s been a while since the Polo was offered in this body-style in SA, anyway). It’s an approach that other automakers have followed over the past few years, too.
Why is the three-door hatchback seemingly now on its deathbed? Well, Felipe Munoz, global automotive analyst at Jato Dynamics, says it is simply the “consequence of the shocking sales drop posted by this body-type during the last few years”.
Making specific reference to the European market, Munoz said that “consumers are displaying a change in preferences when it comes to body-type”.
“Much has been said and written about the SUV boom and its importance to the automotive sector’s growth, but there is another overriding trend of recent years – the financial crisis and its impact is forcing drivers to think more rationally about body-type when purchasing a car,” Munoz wrote.
Consumers, he argued, now think more carefully about the balance between comfort, usability and design, particularly those consumers looking for small cars.
“We are seeing a shift; design is no longer the primary concern of consumers – convenience is increasingly important. This explains why three-door hatchbacks are disappearing from European roads,” he said.
Munoz provides statistics to back up his claims, pointing out that in 2007 the three-door cars in the A-, B- and C-segment accounted for almost 15% of total European registrations. Demand rose in 2009, with sales of these models accounting for almost 17% of total market.
“But, as the financial crisis hit, consumer priorities changed. Since then, the market share of small and compact three-door cars posted a shocking decline from 2,45 million units in 2009 to 961 000 units in 2016,” he wrote.
The market share of these three-door vehicles shrank by more than 10 percentage points, from 16,6% in 2009 to just 6,3% in 2016 in a time when overall registrations have shown positive growth.
Munoz points out that many three-door versions of popular B-segment cars (such as the Renault Clio) are no longer available in this form, while the Suzuki Swift is set to join the Polo in eliminating the three-door versions from its line-up.
It’s a similar case in the C-segment, where three-door versions of the Ford Focus, Peugeot 308,Toyota Auris, Hyundai i30, Opel Astra and Renault Mégane (the sportiest, outgoing versions of the latter two, though, are still offered in three-door form in SA) among others, are no longer offered.
“The unavailability of the Polo three-door is one more step towards the end of a body-type that was a synonym for ‘cool’, that is no longer valid in a market full of more practical, rational consumers,” concluded Munoz.
