The GCBC Analysis
The Small Luxury car segment was down for the month of April. Small Luxury Cars saw a notable drop of about 4,600 units. The Midsize Luxury Car segment was up for the month of April, though much of its growth can be attributed to the Tesla Model 3.
In the Small Luxury Car segment, the Mercedes C-Class led the way in terms of sales volume. It still managed to claim the top spot despite a roughly 21 percent decline in sales. It was followed by the BMW 3-Series which saw a slight increase of about three percent. Rounding out the top three was the Audi A4, which saw a decline in sales of a little more than 15 percent. Most of the other models in the segment saw sales declines.
On the Midsize Luxury Car side of things, the sales leader was the Tesla Model 3. It saw a sales increase of around 159 percent. It was followed by the Lexus ES, which saw an increase of nearly nine percent. Rounding out the top three was the Mercedes-Benz E / CLS-Class, which saw a drop of about 15 percent. If Tesla’s Model 3 was not included, the segment would have been down by about 4,000 units.
These two segments are hurting in 2019. The YTD numbers look similar to the monthly ones. This suggests sales will continue in a similar fashion in the future.
Small and Midsize Cars Rankings
Small Luxury Car Sales – This Month
| Model | US | US LY | % Change | YTD | YTD LY | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW 2-Series | 581 | 879 | -33.9 | 2,643 | 3,647 | -27.5 |
| BMW 3-Series | 3,642 | 3,550 | 2.6 | 11,867 | 17,201 | -31.0 |
| BMW 4-Series | 1,214 | 2,473 | -50.9 | 8,616 | 9,412 | -8.5 |
| Volvo 60-Series | 1,259 | 1,392 | -9.6 | 5,218 | 4,545 | 14.8 |
| Mercedes-Benz A-Class | 804 | 0 | 0.0 | 1,694 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Audi A3 | 681 | 1,593 | -57.3 | 3,350 | 6,069 | -44.8 |
| Audi A4 | 1,860 | 3,126 | -40.5 | 7,639 | 10,777 | -29.1 |
| Audi A5 | 1,685 | 2,169 | -22.3 | 7,163 | 8,243 | -13.1 |
| Cadillac ATS | 121 | 1,262 | -90.4 | 643 | 5,224 | -87.7 |
| Mercedes-Benz B-Class | 1 | 7 | -85.7 | 4 | 129 | -96.9 |
| Mercedes-Benz C-Class | 4,054 | 5,148 | -21.3 | 19,056 | 18,498 | 3.0 |
| Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class | 986 | 1,910 | -48.4 | 6,196 | 7,365 | -15.9 |
| Genesis G70 | 844 | 0 | 0.0 | 3,076 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Alfa Romeo Giulia | 746 | 1,123 | -33.6 | 2,781 | 4,208 | -33.9 |
| BMW i3 | 331 | 506 | -34.6 | 1,295 | 2,503 | -48.3 |
| Lexus IS | 1,385 | 1,816 | -23.7 | 5,269 | 7,099 | -25.8 |
| Tesla Model 3 | 10,050 | 3,875 | 159.4 | 32,475 | 12,055 | 169.4 |
| Infiniti Q50 | 2,174 | 1,880 | 15.6 | 10,438 | 13,581 | -23.1 |
| Infiniti Q60 | 425 | 650 | -34.6 | 1,729 | 2,641 | -34.5 |
| Lexus RC | 353 | 369 | -4.3 | 1,316 | 987 | 33.3 |
| Acura TLX | 2,096 | 2,914 | -28.1 | 9,125 | 11,877 | -23.2 |
| Jaguar XE | 217 | 299 | -27.4 | 2,058 | 1,934 | 6.4 |
| ∑ = 35,509 | ∑ = 36,941 | ∑ = 143,651 | ∑ = 147,995 |
Midsize Luxury Car Sales – This Month
| Model | US | US LY | % Change | YTD | YTD LY | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW 5-Series | 2,857 | 3,056 | -6.5 | 13,202 | 13,094 | 0.8 |
| Volvo 90-Series | 333 | 763 | -56.4 | 1,560 | 3,422 | -54.4 |
| Audi A6 | 1,374 | 1,172 | 17.2 | 6,732 | 3,936 | 71.0 |
| Audi A7 | 441 | 280 | 57.5 | 2,207 | 1,123 | 96.5 |
| Lincoln Continental | 484 | 867 | -44.2 | 1,839 | 3,272 | -43.8 |
| Cadillac CT6 | 605 | 809 | -25.2 | 2,793 | 3,276 | -14.7 |
| Cadillac CTS | 794 | 880 | -9.8 | 3,223 | 3,322 | -3.0 |
| Mercedes-Benz E / CLS-Class | 3,372 | 3,945 | -14.5 | 13,766 | 16,380 | -16.0 |
| Lexus ES | 3,499 | 3,218 | 8.7 | 14,889 | 12,481 | 19.3 |
| Genesis G80 | 632 | 786 | -19.6 | 2,113 | 4,164 | -49.3 |
| Lexus GS | 301 | 651 | -53.8 | 1,256 | 2,414 | -48.0 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 1,519 | 1,692 | -10.2 | 5,806 | 6,051 | -4.0 |
| Tesla Model S | 825 | 1,250 | -34.0 | 4,775 | 9,650 | -50.5 |
| Infiniti Q70 | 345 | 272 | 26.8 | 1,307 | 1,763 | -25.9 |
| Acura RLX | 151 | 171 | -11.7 | 532 | 634 | -16.1 |
| Jaguar XF | 71 | 142 | -50.0 | 657 | 722 | -9.0 |
| Cadillac XTS | 1,742 | 1,222 | 42.6 | 5,476 | 6,120 | -10.5 |
| ∑ = 19,345 | ∑ = 21,176 | ∑ = 82,133 | ∑ = 91,824 |
Important note: Ford, GM and FCA have switched to quarterly reporting, making it more difficult to accurately gauge sales. We won’t have results to report for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Ford, Lincoln, Jeep, Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Dodge and Ram until the end of each quarter.