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November 2012 Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America

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2013 Cadillac CTS Sport Sedan Crystal Red
Rather Predictably, Cadillac CTS Sales Continue
To Fall With The ATS Sharing Showrooms

Five of America’s six best-selling premium brand vehicles reported above-average year-over-year sales increases in November 2012. The U.S. new vehicle market grew 15% in November. The BMW 3-Series and 5-Series, Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class, and the Lexus RX and ES all reported increases of at least 17%. 

No vehicle on this list of America’s 30 best-selling premium brand vehicles reported a loss worse than Cadillac’s 26% decline. Fortunately for Cadillac, the top-selling American luxury automaker, there’s another small sport sedan in the family. Combined ATS and CTS sales were up 30%, however, when compared to the CTS’s November 2011 output. 
Meanwhile, the Cadillac XTS was the 20th-ranked luxury vehicle in November 2012. The letter X appeared in the name of twelve other models. That probably annoys you, and it should. 

All 265 Vehicles Ranked By U.S. November 2012 YTD Sales

There are those who believe Buicks should be represented in this luxury vehicles post.  Buick’s Enclave found 4817 buyers, enough to top the BMW X5. The next-best-selling LaCrosse, at 3797 sales, outsold the Acura MDX. The Verano, a car some see as an Acura ILX rival – although neither car is a righteous S-Class or even 3-Series alternative – sold 3574 times in November. Buick also sold 1101 Regals, not enough to crack the top 30.
U.S. luxury auto brand market share pie chart November 2012
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But if you include Buick, a brand which doesn’t have anything remotely high-end with which to compare, we should also consider the inclusion of Chrysler’s 300 (4759 November sales) and Nissan Maxima (4730 sales), among others. We’d also like to know how many Yukon Denalis were sold, or Grand Cherokee SRT8s. Automakers don’t release sales figures that way, unfortunately, and we have to draw the line somewhere, a line we draw at established premium brands with a handful of exceptions. 

If you don’t want to include the Hyundai Genesis or Acura ILX or any other vehicle on this list, consider the vehicles which rank just outside the top 30 as viable candidates: the Volvo S60, Lexus GS, Acura TSX, Range Rover Sport, Audi A6, Audi A5, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lincoln MKZ, and Lexus LS all sold on more than 1300 occasions.

Historic monthly and yearly sales figures for any model (or make, or manufacturer, or for the total market) can be accessed through the dropdown menu at GCBC’s Sales Stats home. Dozens of best seller lists are available at GCBC’s aptly-named Best Sellers page, too.
Dispute the qualifications of many so-called premium vehicles if you like. One thing’s for sure: the BMW 3-Series was the best-selling luxury vehicle in America in November 2012, and its year-to-date title is locked up, as well.

Rank
Luxury Vehicle
November 2012
%
Change
Year To Date
 YTD
% Change
#1
BMW 3-Series
10,776 + 42.4% 88,857 + 3.5%
#2
Lexus RX
8871 + 17.0% 82,847 + 16.5%
#3
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
8565 + 2.5% 73,941 + 20.1%
#4
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
8126 + 59.5% 58,187 + 1.3%
#5
Lexus ES
6066 + 28.2% 48,171 + 33.8%
#6
BMW 5-Series
5857 + 64.3% 48,413 + 3.9%
#7
Cadillac SRX
5340 + 12.8% 51,085 + 3.0%
#8
Infiniti G
4838 + 7.3% 54,328 + 5.1%
#9
BMW X5
4801 + 6.8% 38,723 + 12.1%
#10
BMW X3
4172 + 50.5% 30,011 + 23.7%
#11
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
3894 – 18.8% 33,860 + 10.9%
#12
Acura MDX
3368 + 1.8% 45,785 + 18.4%
#13
Audi A4
3343 + 33.7% 34,724 + 10.2%
A4
 3115 + 24.6% 32,044 + 1.7%

A4 Allroad
 228 —– 2680 —–
#14
Mercedes-Benz GLK
3276 + 33.0% 26,360 + 20.0%
#15
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
3077 – 4.9% 22,931 + 1.6%
#16
Acura RDX
3036 + 129% 25,496 + 87.2%
#17
Cadillac CTS
2798 – 26.4% 43,607 – 12.1%
#18
Audi Q5
2724 + 14.0% 25,045 + 11.0%
#19
Infiniti JX35
2529 —– 18,966 —–
#20
Cadillac XTS
2414 —– 12,110 —–
#21
Hyundai Genesis
2385 – 11.7% 31,576 + 3.4%
#22
Cadillac ATS
2152 —– 4029 —–
#23
Infiniti QX56
2121 + 46.7% 13,078 + 11.8%
T24
Lincoln MKX
2108 + 6.3% 22,490 + 8.6%
T24
Acura ILX
2108 —– 9766 —–
#26
BMW X1
2088 —– 6141 —–
#27
Volvo XC60
2067 + 167% 17,379 + 47.2%
#28
Lexus IS
1988 – 25.7% 25,211 – 3.2%
#29
Porsche Cayenne
1949 + 79.6% 13,980 + 15.1%
#30
Acura TL
1918 – 20.5% 31,326 + 12.1%

Source: Manufacturers
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales 
GCBC qualifies all vehicles from Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Acura, Cadillac, Audi, Infiniti, Lincoln, Volvo, Land Rover, Porsche, and Jaguar while also making exceptions for overtly premium cars like the Chevrolet Corvette, Nissan GT-R, Volkswagen Touareg, Hyundai Equus, and (reluctantly) Hyundai Genesis. Buick’s lack of anything truly high-end hinders its value-priced vehicles from qualifying as premium, despite the image Buick held in a previous era. Yes, this means the B-Class is eligible because of the S-Class; the A3 because of the R8, to an extent. Unfortunately the lack of data separating vehicle trim lines from one another (F-150 XL vs F-150 Platinum, for example) means vehicles like the GMC Yukon Denali and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 aren’t included. None of this should lead you to believe the Chrysler 300 and Toyota Avalon and Buick Enclave aren’t luxurious, particularly as they’re viable competitors for true premium players.

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