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Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – December 2013

2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan
In December 2013, Canada’s third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth-best-selling luxury brand nameplates were utility vehicles. 

Canada luxury auto brand sales chart 2013So were the twelfth and 14th. And, though you won’t see them ranked here, the 16th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, and 26th-best-selling luxury vehicles in December 2013 in Canada – SRX, Range Rover Sport, Infiniti QX60, Lincoln MKX, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class – were SUVs or crossovers of some kind, too.

Two German cars led the way, however, despite the fact that their December 2013 volume was much lower than their December 2012 volume. 

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class (sedan and coupe) outsold the BMW 3-Series (sedan and wagon) for just the first time this year. There’ll be a new C-Class next year, and based solely on its exterior style, it’s a winner, though being a winner in the sales standing is a whole ‘nuther subject. 

In addition to the 3er’s 658 December sales, BMW Canada also sold 112 copies of the new 4-Series last month.

Among vehicles with base prices above $50,000, eleven of Canada’s top 15 best sellers in December were SUVs. The passenger car exceptions included the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (and its CLS-Class sibling which has its figures included in the E-Class’s total in Canada), the BMW 5-Series, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (and its CL-Class coupe offshoot), and the 15th-ranked Porsche 911.

Historical monthly and yearly sales figures for any of these models 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. Canada’s favourite luxury vehicles in December 2013 are listed below.

December 2014 • January 2014 • November 2013 • December 2012

Rank
Luxury Vehicle
December 2013
December
2012
% Change
2013 2012 % Change
#1
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
812 1010 -19.6% 9356 10,616 -11.9%
#2
BMW 3-Series
658 940 -30.0% 12,507 11,234 11.3%
#3
Audi Q5
624 564 10.6% 7547 6152 22.7%
#4
Acura MDX
598 506 18.2% 6114 5242 16.6%
#5
Lexus RX
572 540 5.9% 7789 7130 9.2%
#6
BMW X5
524 172 205% 4704 3975 18.3%
#7
Acura RDX
498 398 25.1% 6112 4726 29.3%
#8
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
457 402 13.7% 4804 5539 -13.3%
#9
Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class
416 562 -26.0% 5979 5279 13.3%
#10
Audi A4 *
412 429 -4.0% 5956 6118 -2.6%
#11
Cadillac ATS
385 72 435% 3256 189 1623%
#12
BMW X1
356 294 21.1% 2910 4776 -39.1%
#13
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & CLS-Class
321 254 26.4% 3359 4083 -17.7%
#14
BMW X3
274 332 -17.5% 5658 5017 12.8%
#15
BMW 5-Series
272 163 66.9% 2717 2727 -0.4%

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, 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
December 2013
December
2012
% Change
2013 2012 % Change
#1
BMW X5
524 172 205% 4704 3975 18.3%
#2
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
457 402 13.7% 4804 5539 -13.3%
#3
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & CLS-Class
321 254 26.4% 3359 4083 -17.7%
#4
BMW 5-Series
272 163 66.9% 2717 2727 -0.4%
#5
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
246 116 112% 1806 1634 10.5%
#6
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
180 196 -8.2% 2408 1846 30.4%
#7
Porsche Cayenne
162 143 13.3% 2050 1628 25.9%
#8
Volkswagen Touareg
157 149 5.4% 2087 1975 5.7%
#9
Chevrolet Tahoe
140 85 64.7% 1632 1108 47.3%
#10
Audi Q7
122 122 0.0% 1781 1653 7.7%
#11
GMC Yukon
113 165 -31.5% 1333 1188 12.2%
#12
GMC Yukon XL
106 66 60.6% 1171 1111 5.4%
#13
Mercedes-Benz S-Class & CL-Class
88 63 39.7% 468 715 -34.5%
#14
Chevrolet Suburban
77 71 8.5% 1183 1022 15.8%
#15
Porsche 911
64 25 156% 661 584 13.2%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales
* A4 sales include sales of the unreported Allroad
$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.

Total Infiniti G/Q50/Q60 volume: up 63% to 187 in December; up 1.5% to 3048 in 2013.

RECOMMENDED READING
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – December 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – January 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – November 2013
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – December 2012
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings – December 2013 & Year End
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada – December 2013
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada – 2013 Year End