Soaring September sales provided the Lexus RX with another victory as the best-selling premium brand vehicle in America.
Thanks to an 11% year-over-year uptick, the RX crossover outsold the BMW 3-Series – America’s top-selling premium brand car last month and the second-ranked premium car so far this year – by nearly 1200 units.
U.S. Vehicle Sales By Model – September 2016 YTD
Among the 15 top-selling premium brand vehicles in September 2016, the RX was one of 10 SUVs/crossovers. Three of the five top-selling premium brand cars reported harsh year-over-year declines.
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| Click Chart To Expand |
Among vehicles with base prices above $50,000, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (and its CLS offshoot) was the top seller.
But the E-Class was one of just five cars, a list that includes the Chevrolet Corvette, BMW 5-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and Cadillac CT6.
For the CT6, the 1343-unit total was the best month yet.
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. Mobile users can now thumb across the tables for full-width access.
October 2016 • August 2015 • September 2015
|
Rank
|
Premium Brand Vehicle
|
September 2016
|
September
2015 |
% Change
|
2016 YTD |
2015 YTD |
% Change |
|
#1
|
Lexus RX
|
8,605
|
7,759
|
10.9%
|
76,240
|
69,922
|
9.0%
|
|
#2
|
BMW 3-Series
|
7,432
|
9,145
|
-18.7%
|
53,092
|
69,833
|
-24.0%
|
|
#3
|
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
|
6,600
|
7,660
|
-13.8%
|
56,334
|
64,535
|
-12.7%
|
|
#4
|
Acura MDX
|
4,930
|
4,313
|
14.3%
|
39,578
|
43,457
|
-8.9%
|
|
#5
|
Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class & GLK-Class
|
4,873
|
2,056
|
137%
|
36,390
|
20,377
|
78.6%
|
|
#6
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & CLS-Class
|
4,824
|
4,472
|
7.9%
|
37,576
|
39,941
|
-5.9%
|
|
#7
|
Lexus NX
|
4,729
|
3,113
|
51.9%
|
38,115
|
31,947
|
19.3%
|
|
#8
|
Cadillac XT5
|
4,608
|
—
|
—
|
21,696
|
—
|
—
|
|
#9
|
Lexus ES
|
4,543
|
5,195
|
-12.6%
|
43,773
|
46,962
|
-6.8%
|
|
#10
|
Infiniti Q50
|
4,359
|
3,557
|
22.5%
|
31,163
|
31,603
|
-1.4%
|
|
#11
|
Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class & M-Class
|
4,127
|
5,151
|
-19.9%
|
37,481
|
36,447
|
2.8%
|
|
#12
|
Audi Q5
|
3,957
|
5,149
|
-23.2%
|
35,195
|
36,566
|
-3.7%
|
|
#13
|
Acura RDX
|
3,919
|
3,848
|
1.8%
|
38,722
|
38,502
|
0.6%
|
|
#14
|
BMW X3
|
3,829
|
3,033
|
26.2%
|
31,003
|
20,783
|
49.2%
|
|
#15
|
Cadillac Escalade
|
3,750
|
2,809
|
33.5%
|
26,687
|
25,130
|
6.2%
|
|
#15
|
Cadillac Escalade *
|
2,097
|
1,628
|
28.8%
|
16,131
|
14,977
|
7.7%
|
|
#15
|
Cadillac Escalade ESV *
|
1,653
|
1,181
|
40.0%
|
10,556
|
10,153
|
4.0%
|
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
|
September 2016
|
September
2015 |
% Change
|
2016 YTD |
2015 YTD |
% Change |
|
#1
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class & CLS-Class
|
4,824
|
4,472
|
7.9%
|
37,576
|
39,941
|
-5.9%
|
|
#2
|
Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class & M-Class
|
4,127
|
5,151
|
-19.9%
|
37,481
|
36,447
|
2.8%
|
|
#3
|
Cadillac Escalade
|
3,750
|
2,809
|
33.5%
|
26,687
|
25,130
|
6.2%
|
|
|
Cadillac Escalade *
|
2,097
|
1,628
|
28.8%
|
16,131
|
14,977
|
7.7%
|
|
|
Cadillac Escalade ESV *
|
1,653
|
1,181
|
40.0%
|
10,556
|
10,153
|
4.0%
|
|
#4
|
BMW X5
|
3,749
|
2,525
|
48.5%
|
32,818
|
40,490
|
-18.9%
|
|
#5
|
GMC Yukon XL
|
3,500
|
3,027
|
15.6%
|
24,113
|
20,939
|
15.2%
|
|
#6
|
Chevrolet Corvette
|
2,829
|
2,572
|
10.0%
|
22,719
|
26,398
|
-13.9%
|
|
#7
|
Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class & GL-Class
|
2,782
|
2,448
|
13.6%
|
21,244
|
19,329
|
9.9%
|
|
#8
|
Audi Q7
|
2,475
|
1,941
|
27.5%
|
21,885
|
14,421
|
51.8%
|
|
#9
|
Lexus GX460
|
1,984
|
1,611
|
23.2%
|
17,545
|
17,860
|
-1.8%
|
|
#10
|
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
|
1,532
|
1,633
|
-6.2%
|
15,345
|
15,531
|
-1.2%
|
|
#11
|
BMW 5-Series
|
1,521
|
4,059
|
-62.5%
|
27,705
|
33,838
|
-18.1%
|
|
#12
|
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
|
1,440
|
1,956
|
-26.4%
|
13,414
|
15,996
|
-16.1%
|
|
#13
|
Cadillac CT6
|
1,343
|
—
|
—
|
5,391
|
—
|
—
|
|
#14
|
Porsche Cayenne
|
1,239
|
1,323
|
-6.3%
|
11,506
|
12,267
|
-6.2%
|
|
#15
|
Infiniti QX80
|
1,202
|
1,044
|
15.1%
|
11,794
|
10,532
|
12.0%
|
Source: Automakers & ANDC
$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 – October 2016
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – August 2016
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America – September 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America – September 2016
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America – September 2016
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – September 2016