Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – May 2015

BMW was America’s top-selling premium brand in May 2015 but trails Mercedes-Benz by 479 units year-to-date.

Lexus, faced with decreased demand for its most popular model, the RX (which is set to be replaced this year), still managed to post a 10% increase to 29,671 units in May, a scant 88 more than Mercedes-Benz’s non-Sprinter vehicles managed.

U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model – May 2015 YTD

Those three brands earned the four top spots on this month’s list of America’s best-selling luxury vehicles. The top 15 included three BMWs, three Mercedes-Benzes, four different Lexus products, three Acuras, one Audi, and one Cadillac.

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]Among vehicles with base prices above $45,000, GM grabbed six of the top 15 spots in May with their full-size SUVs and the Chevrolet Corvette. BMWs ranked second and fourth; Mercedes-Benz landed four cars among the top 15.

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.

May 2016 • June 2015 • April 2015 • May 2014

Rank	Premium Brand Vehicle	May 2015	May 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
#1	BMW 3-Series & 4-Series *	12,868	10,915	17.9%	54,173	45,114	20.1%
#2	Lexus RX	8000	9476	-15.6%	37,046	38,838	-4.6%
#3	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	7413	5284	40.3%	35,021	27,427	27.7%
#4	BMW X5	5797	4313	34.4%	21,643	18,466	17.2%
#5	Cadillac SRX	5777	4762	21.3%	24,461	24,212	1.0%
#6	Lexus ES	5553	6523	-14.9%	24,299	27,662	-12.2%
#7	Acura MDX	5421	5997	-9.6%	24,828	25,774	-3.7%
#8	Acura RDX	5343	4299	24.3%	20,657	18,864	9.5%
#9	Acura TLX	4352	—	—	18,186	—	—
#10	Lexus IS	4345	4403	-1.3%	19,599	19,641	-0.2%
#11	Audi Q5	4280	3836	11.6%	17,396	15,903	9.4%
#12	BMW 5-Series	4257	4752	-10.4%	20,616	19,677	4.8%
#13	Lexus NX	4014	—	—	16,546	—	—
#14	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3991	4084	-2.3%	19,419	18,049	7.6%
#15	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	3942	6168	-36.1%	18,641	28,097	-33.7%

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 $40K.

Rank	Vehicles With Base Prices Above $45K	May 2015	May 2014	% Change	2015 YTD	2014 YTD	% Change
#1	Chevrolet Tahoe	7119	9229	-22.9%	35,899	34,691	3.5%
#2	BMW X5	5797	4313	34.4%	21,643	18,466	17.2%
#3	Chevrolet Suburban	4375	5423	-19.3%	20,390	16,987	20.0%
#4	BMW 5-Series	4257	4752	-10.4%	20,616	19,677	4.8%
#5	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3991	4084	-2.3%	19,419	18,049	7.6%
#6	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	3942	6168	-36.1%	18,641	28,097	-33.7%
#7	Chevrolet Corvette	3514	3328	5.6%	15,500	15,021	3.2%
#8	GMC Yukon	3455	4409	-21.6%	14,719	14,658	0.4%
#9	Cadillac Escalade	2661	2513	5.9%	13,799	7488	84.3%
	Cadillac Escalade *	1617	1664	-2.8%	8388	4764	76.1%
	Cadillac Escalade ESV *	1044	846	23.4%	5409	2677	102%
	Cadillac Escalade EXT *	—	3	-100%	2	47	-95.7%
#10	GMC Yukon XL	2516	3164	-20.5%	11,031	9349	18.0%
#11	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	2322	2326	-0.2%	10,852	9997	8.6%
#12	Lexus GX460	2182	1958	11.4%	9612	8504	13.0%
#13	Audi A6	2027	2151	-5.8%	8978	9719	-7.6%
#14	Mercedes-Benz S-Class	1922	2173	-11.6%	8987	9451	-4.9%
#15	Lexus GS	1884	1753	7.5%	9499	8611	10.3%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
$45,000 USD (before delivery) is an arbitrary borderline, but if GCBC was to follow this system of designating only expensive vehicles as luxury vehicles, adding approximately $15,000 to the average new car transaction price seemed like a fitting place to begin. Plenty of less expensive vehicles with specific models feature prices above $45,000 – M, RS, and AMG models come to mind, specifically – but in the case of the second list, we know that none of the registrations were of cars priced at $32,750, as would be the case with the new BMW 320i, which costs less than a Honda Accord V6 Touring.
* BMW USA, not GoodCarBadCar, has chosen to combine sales of the 3-Series and 4-Series.