The Lexus RX’s 10% increase in an abbreviated sales month for the U.S. auto industry allowed Lexus’ best-selling model to maintain its position as America’s top-selling premium brand vehicle in May 2016.
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U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model – May 2016 YTD
RX volume grew by 804 units and are up by 4321 units through the first five months of 2016. The Lexus RX’s closest rival, Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class, is nearly 11,000 sales behind and has already lost 4583 sales in 2016.
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The RX’s closest utility vehicle rival in May was the Audi Q5, more than 4000 sales behind.
Cadillac’s SRX, traditionally one of the two top rivals for the RX, is transitioning into third-gen form with a new name: XT5. Combined sales of the SRX and XT5 fell 22% to 4493 in May.
11 of the 15 top-selling premium brand vehicles in America in May 2016 were utility vehicles. Among vehicles priced above $50,000, 10 of the top 15 were SUVs/crossovers.
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.
June 2016 • April 2016 • May 2015
|
Rank
|
Premium Brand Vehicle
|
May 2016
|
May
2015 |
% Change
|
2016 YTD |
2015 YTD |
% Change |
|
#1
|
Lexus RX
|
8804 | 8000 | 10.1% | 41,367 | 37,046 | 11.7% |
|
#2
|
BMW 3-Series
|
7376 | 8819 | -16.4% | 26,157 | 35,905 | -27.1% |
|
#3
|
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
|
6954 | 7413 | -6.2% | 30,438 | 35,021 | -13.1% |
|
#4
|
Lexus ES
|
5373 | 5553 | -3.2% | 22,833 | 24,299 | -6.0% |
|
#5
|
Audi Q5
|
4736 | 4280 | 10.7% | 17,567 | 17,396 | 1.0% |
|
#6
|
Acura RDX
|
4566 | 5343 | -14.5% | 22,683 | 20,657 | 9.8% |
|
#7
|
BMW X5
|
4372 | 5797 | -24.6% | 18,186 | 21,643 | -16.0% |
|
#8
|
Infiniti QX60
|
4274 | 3141 | 36.1% | 16,592 | 14,775 | 12.3% |
|
#9
|
Acura MDX
|
4208 | 5421 | -22.4% | 20,897 | 24,828 | -15.8% |
|
#10
|
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class & GLK-Class
|
4183 | 2558 | 63.5% | 19,620 | 11,286 | 73.8% |
|
#11
|
Lexus NX
|
4031 | 4014 | 0.4% | 19,221 | 16,546 | 16.2% |
|
#12
|
Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class & M-Class
|
4003 | 3991 | 0.3% | 20,671 | 19,419 | 6.4% |
|
#13
|
BMW 4-Series
|
3641 | 4049 | -10.1% | 16,092 | 18,268 | -11.9% |
|
#14
|
Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class & GL-Class
|
3358 | 2322 | 44.6% | 10,229 | 10,852 | -5.7% |
|
#15
|
BMW X3
|
3295 | 2575 | 28.0% | 15,928 | 10,982 | 45.0% |
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 $50K
|
May 2016
|
May
2015 |
% Change
|
2016 YTD |
2015 YTD |
% Change |
|
#1
|
Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class & M-Class
|
4003 | 3991 | 0.3% | 20,671 | 19,419 | 6.4% |
|
#2
|
Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class & GL-Class
|
3358 | 2322 | 44.6% | 10,229 | 10,852 | -5.7% |
|
#3
|
BMW 5-Series
|
3264 | 4257 | -23.3% | 17,428 | 20,616 | -15.5% |
|
#4
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
|
3154 | 3942 | -20.0% | 16,155 | 18,641 | -13.3% |
|
#5
|
Cadillac Escalade
|
2943 | 2661 | 10.6% | 14,057 | 13,799 | 1.9% |
|
|
Cadillac Escalade ^
|
1856 | 1617 | 14.8% | 8685 | 8388 | 3.5% |
|
|
Cadillac Escalade ESV ^
|
1087 | 1044 | 4.1% | 5372 | 5409 | -0.7% |
|
#6
|
Chevrolet Corvette
|
2673 | 3514 | -23.9% | 12,185 | 15,500 | -21.4% |
|
#7
|
Audi Q7
|
2663 | 1823 | 46.1% | 12,128 | 6895 | 75.9% |
|
#8
|
GMC Yukon XL
|
2384 | 2516 | -5.2% | 11,604 | 11,031 | 5.2% |
|
#9
|
Lexus GX460
|
1859 | 2182 | -14.8% | 9052 | 9612 | -5.8% |
|
#10
|
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
|
1563 | 1674 | -6.6% | 8748 | 9657 | -9.4% |
|
#11
|
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
|
1510 | 1922 | -21.4% | 7006 | 8987 | -22.0% |
|
#12
|
Infiniti QX80
|
1424 | 1058 | 34.6% | 6519 | 6330 | 3.0% |
|
#13
|
Porsche Cayenne
|
1293 | 1392 | -7.1% | 6777 | 6691 | 1.3% |
|
#14
|
Land Rover Range Rover
|
1044 | 1516 | -31.1% | 6994 | 7893 | -11.4% |
|
#15
|
BMW 7-Series
|
1012 | 943 | 7.3% | 4197 | 4391 | -4.4% |
Source: Automakers & ANDC
^ Escalade breakdown by variant. A previous version of this article said SRX/XT5 sales were down 50% in May.
$50,000 USD (before delivery) is an arbitrary borderline, upgraded in 2016 from $45K last year by $5K, but if GCBC was to follow this system of designating only expensive vehicles as luxury vehicles, adding approximately $20,000 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 $50,000 – 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 below that borderline.
RECOMMENDED READING
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – June 2016
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – April 2016
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – May 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America – May 2016
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America – May 2016
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – May 2016