• America’s Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Calendar Year 2014
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Yes, it was a particularly dominant month for the venerable BMW. And during the same period, sales of BMW’s X5 more than tripled, year-over-year, to 6098 units, making it the third-best-selling premium brand utility vehicle in December 2014.
Cadillac, meanwhile, the current whipping boy for American auto observers, posted a brand-wide 11% loss as their car volume fell 23% compared with December 2014.
Combined, the ATS and CTS were down by 1987 units, a loss of 28%.
• U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model – December 2014 Year End
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.
December 2015 • January 2015 • November 2014 • December 2013
Rank
|
Premium Brand Vehicle
|
December 2014
|
December
2013 |
% Change
|
2014 | 2013 | % Change |
#1
|
BMW 3-Series & 4-Series *
|
19,464 | 16,737 | 16.3% | 142,232 | 119,521 | 19.0% |
#2
|
Lexus RX
|
13,625 | 13,169 | 3.5% | 107,490 | 103,920 | 3.4% |
#3
|
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
|
8224 | 7229 | 13.8% | 75,065 | 88,251 | -14.9% |
#4
|
Lexus ES
|
7782 | 8213 | -5.2% | 72,508 | 72,581 | -0.1% |
#5
|
Acura MDX
|
6761 | 6538 | 3.4% | 65,603 | 53,040 | 23.7% |
#6
|
BMW X5
|
6098 | 1953 | 212% | 47,031 | 39,818 | 18.1% |
#7
|
Lexus IS
|
5939 | 5414 | 9.7% | 51,358 | 35,017 | 46.7% |
#8
|
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
|
5625 | 4485 | 25.4% | 46,726 | 41,326 | 13.1% |
#9
|
BMW 5-Series
|
5517 | 8102 | -31.9% | 52,704 | 56,863 | -7.3% |
#10
|
Acura RDX
|
5156 | 4215 | 22.3% | 44,865 | 44,750 | 0.3% |
#11
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
|
5119 | 8727 | -41.3% | 66,400 | 69,803 | -4.9% |
#12
|
Cadillac SRX
|
4899 | 6074 | -19.3% | 53,578 | 56,776 | -5.6% |
#13
|
Audi Q5
|
4551 | 4794 | -5.1% | 42,420 | 40,355 | 5.1% |
#14
|
Infiniti Q50
|
3855 | 4568 | -15.6% | 36,899 | 17,816 | 107% |
#15
|
Acura TLX
|
3834 | — | — | 19,127 | — | — |
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 |
December 2014
|
December
2013 |
% Change
|
2014 | 2013 | % Change |
#1
|
Chevrolet Tahoe
|
11,259 | 8646 | 30.2% | 97,726 | 83,502 | 17.0% |
#2
|
Chevrolet Suburban
|
6761 | 5820 | 16.2% | 55,009 | 51,260 | 7.3% |
#3
|
BMW X5
|
6098 | 1953 | 212% | 47,031 | 39,818 | 18.1% |
#4
|
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
|
5625 | 4485 | 25.4% | 46,726 | 41,326 | 13.1% |
#5
|
BMW 5-Series
|
5517 | 8102 | -31.9% | 52,704 | 56,863 | -7.3% |
#6
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
|
5119 | 8727 | -41.3% | 66,400 | 69,803 | -4.9% |
#7
|
GMC Yukon
|
4729 | 3597 | 31.5% | 41,569 | 28,302 | 46.9% |
#8
|
Cadillac Escalade
|
3740 | 2311 | 61.8% | 30,522 | 22,514 | 35.6% |
|
Cadillac Escalade ^
|
2281 | 1470 | 55.2% | 19,482 | 12,592 | 54.7% |
|
Cadillac Escalade ESV ^
|
1459 | 775 | 88.3% | 10,987 | 7950 | 38.2% |
|
Cadillac Escalade EXT ^
|
— | 66 | -100% | 53 | 1972 | -97.3% |
#9
|
Chevrolet Corvette
|
3552 | 3005 | 18.2% | 34,839 | 17,291 | 101% |
#10
|
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
|
3394 | 2239 | 51.6% | 26,597 | 29,912 | -11.1% |
#11
|
GMC Yukon XL
|
3260 | 3158 | 3.2% | 29,752 | 31,258 | -4.8% |
#12
|
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
|
2832 | 1857 | 52.5% | 25,276 | 13,303 | 90.0% |
#13
|
Lexus GS
|
2745 | 2604 | 5.4% | 22,198 | 19,742 | 12.4% |
#14
|
Lexus GX460
|
2707 | 1830 | 47.9% | 22,685 | 12,136 | 86.9% |
#15
|
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
|
2036 | 2305 | -11.7% | 17,897 | 15,976 | 12.0% |
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 $44,660.
^ Escalade breakdown by model
* 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 down 10% to 3197 in December and down 7.5% to 33,993 in 2014. Cadillac’s new CTS – 2652 December sales – starts at $45,100, but the lingering CTS Coupe is a sub-$40K car, and the wagon starts at $42,195.
RECOMMENDED READING
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – December 2015
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – January 2015
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – November 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – December 2013