Large Luxury Car Sales And Large Luxury SUV Sales In Canada – March 2012

March 2012 Large Luxury Car Sales Chart Click Any Chart For A Larger View

After facing criticism last month for being unable to succeed with their flagships, Lexus Canada improved LX570 inventory and 46 buyers left dealers with a big new SUV in March 2012. Granted, the LX570’s 142% jump still wasn’t good enough to drag the LX out from the bottom of the pack, but sales were more than double what Lexus achieved a year ago.

Lexus’s LS sedan remained dramatically (relatively) less popular than it was a year ago. For the fourth consecutive month and for the eleventh time since January 2011, LS sales fell on year-over-year terms. Much of this can be written off by the fact that supply was severely limited, but that doesn’t change the fact that the LS’s rivals are wildly more popular.

March 2012 Large Luxury SUV Sales Chart

How much more popular? The LS accounts for just 4.5% of the premium luxury sedan market. Include the less costly Hyundai Equus in the mix – a car which sold just as frequently as the Lexus in March – and the LS’s share in its category falls to just 4.3%. 

Though this may sound like Lexus-bashing, it’s really more like proper honour being paid to the Europeans. BMW 7-Series sales rose 7.7% in March – Canada’s new car market was up just 2.8%. Sales of Mercedes-Benz top-range sedan and coupe fell slightly in March but the Benz was still class-leading. Likewise, sales of Mercedes-Benz’s biggest and most expensive SUVs slid in March, as well, but Mercedes was still the segment leader.

Sales figures for all these vehicles and every other nameplate currently on sale in North America can be accessed through the dropdown menu at the top right of this page. After the jump you’ll find detailed March 2012 and first-quarter Canadian numbers for a dozen large luxury automobiles.