Europe’s booming subcompact SUV/crossover segment has become a bright spot for brands such as Opel, Peugeot and Renault, but now their Asian rivals plan to make life tougher.

Hyundai, Kia and Toyota are preparing new entries to take on hot-selling models such as the Peugeot 2008, Renault Captur and Opel/Vauxhall Mokka.

IHS Automotive forecasts that annual sales of subcompact SUV/crossovers will rise to 582,790 units in Europe by 2016 from 307,300 this year.

Hyundai’s planned entry may sell more than 40,000 at its peak, while Toyota’s replacement for its slow-selling Urban Cruiser may reach peak sales of 37,537 in 2017, the forecaster predicts. Hyundai is successful in the compact SUV segment as the ix35 is the brand’s No. 2 seller in Europe after the i30 compact car. But Hyundai Europe Chief Operating Officer Allan Rushforth said the subcompact SUV segment is unlikely to bring the high profit margins that companies have previously achieved with compact SUVs. “The segment is filling up fast,” he said at the Frankfurt auto show last month.

Hyundai has said it will add a subcompact SUV but has not confirmed the timing. “It’s a question of when, not if,” Hyundai Europe Marketing Director Mark Hall said at Frankfurt. IHS expects the model to go on sale in Europe in 2015.

Kia will decide by the end of the year whether to build a production model based on the Niro concept unveiled in Frankfurt, Benny Oeyen, the brand’s European product and marketing boss, stated.

IHS predicts annual sales of 10,000 units in Europe for the model, which will be built using Hyundai-Kia’s PB platform that also underpins the Kia Soul.

Ford Motor and Opel likely will be hit hard by the new competition from Asian competitors. Hyundai is forecast to sell 41,409 units of its subcompact SUV in 2016, pushing it ahead of the Ford EcoSport and Opel Mokka. The EcoSport, which arrives in European showrooms in early 2014, is forecast to have European sales of 31,229 in 2016, while the forecast for the Mokka is 38,795.

The Mokka, Captur and 2008 have reaped the rewards of a growing consumer appetite for SUVs and crossovers. Total sales of all SUVs in Europe rose 6 percent to 1.06 million in the first half at a time when overall European car sales fell by 6 percent to 6.65 million. The Captur, 2008 and Mokka combined contributed about 60,000 units, or virtually all of the 38 percent growth in the segment.

Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest automaker, is expected to make a big impact when it launches the Taigun in 2015. According to the 2016 forecast, the model will quickly achieve annual European sales of more than 80,000 units, which means it will vie with the Peugeot 2008, Dacia Duster and Renault Captur for the lead among subcompact SUVs.

The segment will become even more crowded with entries from Fiat, Honda and Mazda. Fiat plans to introduce a crossover version of the Fiat 500, called the 500X, next September. The 500X will share a platform with a new subcompact Jeep, which launches three months earlier. Honda plans to debut a Jazz-based subcompact crossover, which is expected in 2015. Mazda’s contender likely will launch in the same year.