Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – August 2013

The Lexus RX was America’s best-selling premium brand vehicle in August 2013. Through the first eight months of 2013, the BMW 3-Series leads the RX by 3731 units.

Lexus led all premium brands in total sales in August, as well. That would surely not be possible without the RX, which accounted for 38% of the brand’s U.S. volume last month. August marked just the third time in the last three 32 months that Lexus sold more than 25,000 vehicles in a single month.

All 262 Vehicles Ranked By U.S. Sales – August 2013 YTD

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BMW, on the other hand, reported a greater year-over-year percentage increase, at 46%, and did so by generating six in ten sales by way of the 3-Series and 5-Series.

The 5-Series ranked tenth among premium brand vehicles and second among vehicles with base prices above $45,000. Only its fierce rival, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, sold more often.

Six of America’s 15 leading premium brand vehicles are crossovers. Three of the top 15 wear Detroit badges. Japanese brands landed five in the top 15.

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.

August 2014 – September 2013 – July 2013 – August 2012

Rank	Luxury Vehicle	August 2013	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Lexus RX	11,423	+ 32.4%	65,678	+ 9.5%
#2	BMW 3-Series	10,357	+ 66.9%	69,409	+ 14.5%
#3	Lexus ES	7628	+ 0.9%	47,210	+ 59.6%
#4	Cadillac SRX	7211	+ 38.6%	36,144	+ 1.6%
#5	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	6701	+ 2.8%	60,207	+ 20.7%
#6	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	6523	+ 44.5%	40,359	+ 1.0%
#7	Acura MDX	6499	+ 17.1%	30,264	– 10.9%
#8	Lexus IS	4432	+ 87.1%	18,859	0.0%
#9	Acura RDX	4381	+ 49.7%	30,517	+ 81.0%
#10	BMW 5-Series	4359	+ 158%	35,107	– 0.1%
#11	Infiniti G / Q60 *	4074	– 34.9%	31,581	– 25.5%
#12	Cadillac CTS	3980	– 22.5%	22,002	– 37.8%
#13	Audi Q5	3845	+ 91.6%	25,331	+ 43.6%
#14	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3816	+ 70.1%	26,220	+ 6.3%
#15	Lincoln MKZ	3652	+ 9.8%	20,901	+ 0.01%

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. A4 sales include the Allroad.

Rank	Luxury Vehicle (Base Prices Above $45K)	August 2013	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	6523	+ 44.5%	40,359	+ 1.0%
#2	BMW 5-Series	4359	+ 158%	35,107	– 0.1%
#3	Chevrolet Suburban	4003	+ 29.4%	31,847	+ 4.1%
#4	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3816	+ 70.1%	26,220	+ 6.3%
#5	GMC Yukon XL	2779	+ 74.3%	20,626	+ 54.1%
#6	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	2722	+ 78.8%	19,833	+ 27.2%
#7	BMW X5	2480	– 30.5%	26,613	+ 3.0%
#8	Lexus GS	2234	+ 22.0%	13,024	– 10.6%
#9	Cadillac Escalade	2151	– 1.7%	14,789	+ 0.3%
#10	Land Rover Range Rover Sport	1846	+ 20.7%	9793	– 1.6%
#11	Audi Q7	1478	+ 55.4%	9386	+ 49.2%
#12	Porsche Cayenne	1435	+ 5.7%	12,517	+ 39.6%
#13	Infiniti QX56 / QX80	1225	+ 19.4%	7972	– 4.9%
#14	Lexus GX460	1056	– 1.4%	6352	– 6.2%
#15	Land Rover Range Rover	972	+ 47.7%	7712	+ 40.5%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales
$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 $32,550, as would be the case with the new BMW 320i, which costs less than a Honda Accord V6 Touring. The biggest problem with a $45,000 minimum price of entry? Cars like the Cadillac XTS, which starts at $44,075.
* Total G/Q50/Q60 volume equalled 6508 units in August (up 3.9%) and 34,015 in the first eight months of 2013 (down 19.7%).