December 2012 And 2012 Year End Small/Entry And Midsize Luxury Car Sales In America

Lexus GS Sales Rose From Abysmally Low Levels To Something More Respectable In 2012

2012 Small/Entry Luxury Car Sales Chart Click Any Chart For Larger View

As you read last week, the BMW 3-Series ended 2012 as the best-selling luxury vehicle in America. Obviously its status as the leader in this post was a foregone conclusion. The 3-Series was a model in transition in 2012, and its gains were not as significant as that which was achieved by America’s overall new vehicle market.

Meanwhile, the Audi A6, Audi A7, Hyundai Equus, Lexus CT200h, Lexus ES, Lexus GS, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class all posted improvements better than the market’s 13.4% boost. Considering the number of cars listed in the accompanying charts and the tables visible after the jump, it appears as though very few luxury cars wowed us with volume growth in 2012. This post featuring higher-end luxury sedans brings with it plenty of red font, too.

December 2012 Small/Entry Luxury Car Sales Chart

Yet, for the most part, luxury automakers grew sales at an impressive clip in 2012. Some of that can be traced back to relatively low-volume cars like the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. But in reality, SUVs are to be thanked.

While BMW 3-Series sales rose just 5.5% in America in 2012, the X3 jumped 26.6%, and BMW also brought in the X1 for another 8947 sales. Even the C-Class Benz, with its better-than-the-market’s 17.9% increase, didn’t post as big an increase as the GLK, which was up 20.8%. The Lincoln brand was down 4.1% in 2012, as car sales fell 15.5% (mainly due to slim growth produced by the MKS and MKZ and the defunct status of the Town Car), while sales of the MKT, MKX, and Navigator rose 11.3%.

2012 Midsize Luxury Car Sales Chart

Acura’s MDX and RDX posted 17.5% and 94.3% improvements, respectively. Compare that to the TSX’s 6.7% drop and the TL’s 7.5% improvement. Jaguar-Land Rover? Sales of the cars were down 2.2%; sales of the SUVs were up 14.6%. Even as the A4 Allroad sells much better than the A4 Avant, overall A4 sales rose just 9.4% – Q5 sales jumped 15.1%.

We could go on, but you get the picture. Luxury car sales in 2012 were healthy, but automobile manufacturers know that if market share is to be stolen, a crossover will be required to do the thievery.

December 2012 Midsize Luxury Car Sales Chart

You can always find the sales figures for any vehicle by selecting a make and/or model at GCBC’s Sales Stats home. The tables below are now sortable: click any heading in either table to rearrange vehicles by December 2012 U.S. sales volume or year-over-year percentage change or whatever it is you wish to sort. Click the headings at the far left to sort back to alphabetical order. It’s a small change, but one that makes the surveying of automotive sales data that much easier at GoodCarBadCar.net.

Click On Column Headers To Sort