The BMW 3-Series was not the best-selling luxury brand vehicle in Canada in March 2014. 3-Series sales plunged 44% (31% if the 4-Series is taken into account) and it ranked fourth among premium brand automobiles.
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The two vehicles typically capable of potentially unseating the 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class and the Lexus RX, ranked third and second, respectively, in March 2014.
The Audi Q5 was the most popular premium brand vehicle in March 2014, only a few sales ahead of the Lexus RX, but ahead nonetheless. In fact, the Q5 is tied for the lead with the aforementioned 3-Series as Canada’s luxury leader through the first quarter of 2014.
Historical monthly and yearly sales figures for any of these top-selling luxury vehicles can always be accessed through the dropdown menu at GCBC’s Sales Stats page, and for those not viewing the mobile version of this site, near the top right of this page, as well.
March 2015 • April 2014 • February 2014 • March 2013
Rank
|
Luxury Vehicle
|
March
2014 |
March
2013 |
%
Change |
2014 YTD |
2013 YTD |
% Change |
#1
|
Audi Q5
|
742 | 687 | 8.0% | 1664 | 1581 | 5.2% |
#2
|
Lexus RX
|
727 | 613 | 18.6% | 1613 | 1476 | 9.3% |
#3
|
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
|
701 | 1057 | -33.7% | 1629 | 1984 | -17.9% |
#4
|
BMW 3-Series *
|
697 | 1244 | -44.0% | 1664 | 2546 | -34.6% |
#5
|
BMW X5
|
654 | 273 | 140% | 1597 | 628 | 154% |
#6
|
Acura RDX
|
634 | 423 | 49.9% | 1305 | 1175 | 11.1% |
#7
|
Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class
|
617 | 779 | -20.8% | 1243 | 1430 | -13.1% |
#8
|
Audi A4 *
|
603 | 568 | 6.2% | 1323 | 1257 | 5.3% |
#9
|
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
|
587 | 430 | 36.5% | 1307 | 1038 | 25.9% |
#10
|
Acura MDX
|
568 | 783 | -27.5% | 1229 | 1205 | 2.0% |
#11
|
BMW X1
|
440 | 273 | 61.2% | 1055 | 507 | 108% |
#12
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & CLS-Class ^
|
427 | 323 | 32.2% | 806 | 623 | 29.4% |
#13
|
BMW X3
|
403 | 829 | -51.4% | 941 | 1652 | -43.0% |
#14
|
Cadillac SRX
|
371 | 229 | 62.0% | 843 | 558 | 51.1% |
#15
|
Lexus IS
|
371 | 105 | 253% | 802 | 219 | 266% |
For the purposes of the above list, premium brands include Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Volvo. Brands like Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Tesla, and Lotus don’t report specific monthly sales data. Bentley and Maserati only report brand totals. Buick has been excluded with a bunch of other automakers that don’t sell vehicles with base prices higher than $45K.
Rank
|
Vehicles With Base
Prices Above $50K |
March
2014 |
March
2013 |
%
Change |
2014 YTD |
2013 YTD |
% Change |
#1
|
BMW X5
|
654 | 273 | 140% | 1597 | 628 | 154% |
#2
|
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
|
587 | 430 | 36.5% | 1307 | 1038 | 25.9% |
#3
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & CLS-Class ^
|
427 | 323 | 32.2% | 806 | 623 | 29.4% |
#4
|
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
|
321 | 184 | 74.5% | 753 | 432 | 74.3% |
#5
|
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
|
236 | 257 | -8.2% | 498 | 615 | -19.0% |
#6
|
Audi Q7
|
192 | 155 | 23.9% | 428 | 373 | 14.7% |
#7
|
Volkswagen Touareg
|
168 | 188 | -10.6% | 429 | 443 | -3.2% |
#8
|
Porsche Cayenne
|
166 | 164 | 1.2% | 453 | 368 | 23.1% |
#9
|
BMW 5-Series
|
114 | 206 | -44.7% | 412 | 537 | -23.3% |
#10
|
Land Rover Range Rover
|
108 | 60 | 80.0% | 281 | 206 | 36.4% |
#11
|
Chevrolet Corvette
|
107 | 14 | 664% | 293 | 38 | 671% |
#12
|
Toyota Sequoia
|
105 | 51 | 106% | 247 | 154 | 60.4% |
#13
|
Audi A6
|
105 | 93 | 12.9% | 216 | 196 | 10.2% |
#14
|
Mercedes-Benz S-Class & CL-Class ^
|
101 | 47 | 115% | 286 | 98 | 192% |
#15
|
Jaguar XF
|
99 | 86 | 15.1% | 192 | 141 | 36.2% |
Source: Automakers & ANDC
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales
* A4 sales include sales of the unreported Allroad. BMW also sold 164 copies of the 3-Series two-door, now called the 4-Series.
^ Mercedes-Benz Canada’s figures combine the E-Class with the CLS and the S-Class with the CL.
$50,000 CDN (before delivery) is an arbitrary borderline, but if GCBC was to follow this new system of designating only expensive vehicles as luxury vehicles, $50K seemed like a safe place to begin – it equals the average U.S. new car transaction price plus $15,000, plus another $5000 to account for Canadian increases. Plenty of less expensive vehicles with specific models feature prices above $50,000 – M, RS, and AMG models come to mind, specifically – but in the case of this list, we know that none of the registrations were of cars priced at $35,900, as would be the case with the BMW 320i, which costs less than a Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0T Limited. The biggest problem with a $50,000 minimum price of entry? Cars like the Cadillac XTS, which starts at $48,940, sporty cars like the $49,500 Audi TT, and SUVs like the $49,990 Acura MDX. Volkswagen recently increased the base Touareg’s price to $50,975; GM jacked up the base Tahoe/Yukon price up to $51,580. The new Cadillac CTS sedan’s base price is above $50,000, but not the base price for other cars in the CTS lineup. Yet.
Total Infiniti G/Q50/Q60 volume: up 20% to 407 in March, up 45% to 910 YTD.
RECOMMENDED READING
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – March 2015
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – April 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – February 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – March 2013