Throw in an imminent facelift for BMW’s strong-selling X1 and a 38 per cent dip in sales for Mercedes-Benz’s ageing GLA in the first half of this year and we have a market segment that is in a state of flux more than most others.

Like a lot of European manufacturers – particularly those from the Volkswagen stable – Audi is suffering delays in homologation of new models and variants due to the latest Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) that has stretched engineers to the limit.

Even though the all-new Q3 was unveiled in the middle of last year and was expected to arrive in Australia in the middle of this year, it is now not expected until the fourth quarter of 2019.

This has left the Audi dealer network without stock of one of the company’s top-selling models, contributing to a 32 per cent decline in sales for the German luxury brand.

In June, dealers sold zero Q3s, compared with 276 in the same month last year. This situation is not going to change for some months, until the new model comes on stream in Q4 – a year after the same vehicle went on sale in Europe.

The Q3 wagon will be followed into showrooms by the sporty coupe-style Q3 Sportback in the first half of 2020, giving further relief to the sales network and another string to Audi’s bow against rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz which have been offering such slope-backed vehicles in the compact SUV market for some time.

While Audi’s Q3 is in hiatus, Volvo is cutting its lunch with its new XC40. Launched in Australia about May last year, the smallest Volvo SUV scored 1588 sales in 2018.

This year, it has already achieved 1519 sales to the end of June, representing a healthy 17.8 per cent share of the segment – higher than the BMW X1’s 15.8 per cent and Mercedes GLA’s 16.5 per cent.

Latecomer: Delays in Australian deliveries of Audi’s new-generation Q3 have left local dealers out of stock of one of their most popular models.

However, if you add the closely related X2 coupe to BMW’s X1 tally, the Bavarian manufacturer’s share grows to a segment-leading 26.2 per cent.

What’s more, BMW has a facelifted X1 in the pipeline for launch in Australia in October, promptly after its European debut.

But Volvo also has more to come in XC40, with a cheaper entry-level three-cylinder variant in the pipeline, along with the company’s first all-electric offering, both within the next six months or so.

For Audi, all is not lost in the segment as it also offers the one-size-smaller Q2 which has managed 1107 sales this year for a 13 per cent share.

But back in 2013 when the Q3 was one of just three contenders in the luxo small SUV class, it held an astonishing 52 per cent slice with 2897 sales in its second year on the market.

Its sales peaked in 2016 when Q3 found 3634 homes in Australia, but because of the growth in competition from its mainly European rivals, Q3’s share has been constantly eroded year on year, down to 15.2 per cent last year.

From three contenders – Q3, X1 and Mini Countryman – in 2013, there are now 10 models fighting for a slice of the action from eight manufacturers.

Volvo XC40

Apart from the three Germans and Volvo, manufacturers in this league include the Japanese Lexus and Infiniti brands with their Q30 and UX nameplates, plus the British Jaguar E-Pace and Mini Countryman.

The manic growth in the segment of recent years – sales grew 28.1 per cent in 2018 alone – has slowed this year, with volumes now running similar to last year’s levels.

Apart from Volvo’s XC40, the biggest winner has been the BMW X2 (+58.1%) and the Jaguar E-Pace (+12%).

The Mercedes GLA began with a bang in 2014 and rose to challenge the BMW dominance in 2018 when it managed 3906 sales to the Beemer twins’ 4259 units.

It benefited from a facelift in the middle of last year, but that came with price rises of as much as $5185 on some variants.

Now getting long in the tooth, the GLA has earned 1405 sales in the first half of 2019 compared with 2266 in the same period of 2018.

Like Audi, Mercedes and its dealer network will be looking forward to an all-new model based on the latest A-Class that rolled into showrooms a year ago.

By Ron Hammerton