Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – August 2014

Though closely challenged by the Lexus RX, the BMW 3-Series (and its 4-Series offshoot, formerly known as the 3-Series), ended August 2014 as America’s best-selling premium brand vehicle.

• U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model – August 2014 YTD

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Lexus also positioned vehicles, the ES and IS sedans, in the third and sixth positions. BMW’s 5-Series ranked ninth among all luxury brand vehicles; the X5 ranked 14th.

There were two Cadillacs in the top 13 (when Escalades are viewed as one nameplate), both of which were not cars.

Cadillac passenger car volume slid 21% to 8570 units in August, 51.5% of the brand’s total volume. You won’t see a single Lincoln mentioned in the tables below. The brand’s top-selling MKZ fell 22% to 2841 units. Lincoln car sales slid 28%; Lincoln SUV/crossover volume jumped 39% because of an additional 1760 MKC sales.

BMW, on the other hand, reported a 15% increase in passenger car volume, equal to 2542 extra sales. Included in BMW’s 19,747 car sales (BMW also sold 7467 X-branded crossovers) were 1025 i3 hatchbacks and the company’s first nine i8 sales.

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.

August 2015 • September 2014 • July 2014 • August 2013

Rank	Premium Brand Vehicle	August 2014	August 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	BMW 3-Series & 4-Series *	12,477	10,357	20.5%	81,631	69,409	17.6%
#2	Lexus RX	11,841	11,423	3.7%	68,763	65,678	4.7%
#3	Lexus ES	7692	7628	0.8%	47,188	47,210	-0.1%
#4	Acura MDX	6497	6499	-0.1%	43,444	30,264	43.6%
#5	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	6481	6523	-0.6%	47,725	40,359	18.3%
#6	Lexus IS	5312	4432	19.9%	33,427	18,859	77.2%
#7	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	5151	6701	-23.1%	43,885	60,207	-27.1%
#8	Cadillac SRX	4545	7211	-37.0%	38,008	36,144	5.2%
#9	BMW 5-Series	4468	4359	2.5%	37,761	35,107	7.6%
#10	Acura RDX	3984	4381	-9.1%	29,865	30,517	-2.1%
#11	Audi A4 *	3818	3260	17.1%	26,310	27,300	-3.6%
#12	Audi Q5	3757	3845	-2.3%	26,874	25,331	6.1%
#13	Cadillac Escalade	3535	2151	64.3%	17,884	14,789	20.9%
	Cadillac Escalade °	2277	1203	89.3%	11,415	7985	43.0%
	Cadillac Escalade ESV °	1257	767	63.9%	6419	5282	21.5%
	Cadillac Escalade EXT °	1	181	-99.4%	50	1522	-96.7%
#14	BMW X5	3497	2480	41.0%	28,623	26,613	7.6%
#15	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3438	3816	-9.9%	28,654	26,220	9.3%

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	August 2014	August 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	6481	6523	-0.6%	47,725	40,359	18.3%
#2	Chevrolet Suburban	5748	4003	43.6%	34,487	31,847	8.3%
#3	GMC Yukon	4715	2345	101%	27,458	17,240	59.3%
#4	BMW 5-Series	4468	4359	2.5%	37,761	35,107	7.6%
#5	Cadillac Escalade	3535	2151	64.3%	17,884	14,789	20.9%
	Cadillac Escalade °	2277	1203	89.3%	11,415	7985	43.0%
	Cadillac Escalade ESV °	1257	767	63.9%	6419	5282	21.5%
	Cadillac Escalade EXT °	1	181	-99.4%	50	1522	-96.7%
#6	BMW X5	3497	2480	41.0%	28,623	26,613	7.6%
#7	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3438	3816	-9.9%	28,654	26,220	9.3%
#8	GMC Yukon XL	3319	2779	19.4%	19,763	20,626	-4.2%
#9	Chevrolet Corvette	2679	655	309%	23,483	6999	236%
#10	Lexus GS	2537	2234	13.6%	14,660	13,024	12.6%
#11	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	2208	2722	-18.9%	15,574	19,833	-21.5%
#12	Lexus GX460	2198	1056	108%	14,429	6352	127%
#13	Audi Q7	1859	1478	25.8%	11,740	9386	25.1%
#14	Mercedes-Benz S-Class	1855	450	312%	15,006	7238	107%
#15	Porsche Cayenne	1485	1435	3.5%	11,744	12,517	-6.2%

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. The biggest problem with a $45,000 minimum price of entry? Cars like the Cadillac XTS, which starts at $44,600 and SUVs like the $48,895 Chevrolet Tahoe.
^ In August, Infiniti sold 1546 copies of the Q50’s predecessor, the G sedan, and 602 Q60s to go along with 2655 Q50s.
° Escalade breakdown by variant
* BMW USA, not GoodCarBadCar, has chosen to combine sales of the 3-Series and 4-Series. GCBC combines sales of the Audi A4 and Audi A4 Allroad. None-Allroad sales were up 28% to 585 in August.
Cadillac’s new CTS – 2592 August sales – starts at $45,100, but the lingering CTS Coupe is a sub-$40K car, and the wagon starts at $42,195.

Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America – August 2014
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America – August 2014
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America – August 2014
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – August 2014 YTD