It’s like the argument for the diesel-powered, stick-shift station wagon. Sure, VW sells a few thousand such Jetta wagons a year. For a company like Volkswagen, with ambitions to more than triple its sales in the U.S. over the next seven years, that’s not enough.
Out of the Cruze hatchback, B-Max and Swift, all of which were revealed at this week’s 2011 Geneva show, only one of them would be a relative success in America, and (hint), “relative” is the key word.
Chevy Cruze hatchback?
The only argument Chevrolet has for bringing this car to the U.S. is the new 2012 Ford Focus hatchback. One Ford is so confident about that car that you can only get the base Focus model with its loss-leader price in the sedan bodystyle. Ford figures that because Americans have been willing to pay premium small car prices for the Mini they’ll do the same for a C-segment Ford.
You, me, and most our fellow enthusiasts tend to like “European” design, including the ever-handy hatchback. We’re not average American buyers, who tend to prefer their hatchbacks in crossover sport/utility form and their cars as midsize sedans with lots of space and good fuel efficiency.
While the Cruze hatchback’s body adds another 14 cubic feet or so of cargo space, it retains the same seating package as the sedan. Rear seat space is adequate for a compact sedan in the U.S., though some criticize it for being a bit cramped.
Hatchbacks don’t sell to average car buyers. BMW has sold more Minis in the U.S. than officially projected because the car is a Mini, not because the car is a hatchback. In fact, Mini intentionally projected no more than 20,000 sales for the 2002 model year, and handily beat it. Yes, some Americans are buying some hatchback models, but the hatches they’re buying have other strong selling points, and sell well as hatchbacks because they’re outlier car buyers. After all, America’s bestselling hatchback is the Toyota Prius.
Ford B-Max?
The B-Max is the tall MPV off the Fiesta platform, just as the upcoming Ford C-Max, to be sold in North America, is a tall MPV off the Focus platform. Will Ford bring the B-Max to the U.S.?
The c-segment, one-bodystyle Cruze is far outselling the b-segment, two-bodystyle Fiesta in the U.S., so the b-segment has only limited appeal in the States. The B-Max has some very attractive features, though. Its rear doors slide back, American minivan-like, and there’s no b-pillar. So you can get people and things in and out of the B-Max easily, just like that other hot-selling model without a fixed b-pillar, the, er, Honda Element.
The B-Max is just 4.3 inches longer than a Fiesta, so if you have tight parking quarters at the home or office and often carry, say a couple of small kids or large dogs, you might make an argument for the B-Max. Like other modern Fords, its maker has put a lot of money and emphasis on the interior quality and comfort. There’s a six-inch touch screen for navigation, information/entertainment and other Sync/MyFord features.
MPVs or minivans as small as the C-Max or Mazda5, both of which offer three rows of seating for those grade school soccer team carpools, have yet to prove themselves in the North American market. I’d put my money on something like the Volkswagen Bulli as having a better chance of becoming a small hit. It’s just an electric-powered concept for now, and its four doors open conventionally, though both rows of seats fold flat for camping and such. So it’s probably a bit less versatile than the Ford B-Max. But the VW far exceeds the Ford in style, just like the Mini does compared with other hatchbacks sold in America.
The chances Ford will sell the B-Max in the U.S.? Very slim.
Suzuki Swift concept?
In the United States last year, Suzuki sold about 700 more vehicles than Ford sold Fiestas. Remember, Ford only launched the Fiesta midyear. The Swift, sold under various model nameplates as a Suzuki, a Chevy and in Canada as the Pontiac Firefly, has been absent from our shores since the ‘90s. The new model is what the Mini was supposed to be to its original; a natural evolution over several generations.
It’s a B-segment two-door hatchback in concept form, though it will be available, again, as a four-door hatch. Suzuki didn’t reveal the next model’s drivetrain options, though there’s talk it would again get turbocharging and perhaps even all-wheel-drive. It has potential as a pocket-rocket with more enthusiasts’ appeal than the Fiesta, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and possibly even the 2012 Chevy Sonic.
Importing the Swift to the U.S. is no small beer. It takes millions of dollars to certify a car for crash and emissions. Even the Cruze hatchback would have to meet crash and rollover certification.
If Suzuki is committed to the U.S. market, what does it have to lose by importing the Swift (beyond those millions of dollars)? Probably just enthusiasts and a few other outliers would shop this car. But when you’re selling just 24,000 vehicles a year in the U.S., another 5,000 to 10,000 units of a car with an admittedly low profit margin sounds like a good deal.
Of these three Euro-centric models, the Suzuki Swift is the one that should come to the U.S.
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