Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - October 2014

Of October 2014's 15 best-selling vehicles in America with base prices above $45,000, five were GM products, four were Mercedes-Benzes, and three were BMWs. 

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• U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - October 2014 YTD

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BMW led the list with the 5-Series, though 5er sales decreased in October. Indeed, sales of the three leading $45K+ vehicles all declined year-over-year, while four other members of the top 15 posted decreased volume compared with October 2013, as well.

Among all premium brand vehicles, regardless of price, BMW was again in front, although the 5-Series fell to sixth place when less costly vehicles are taken into account. The Acura TLX surged forward once again with continually rising sales: 4890 TLX sedans were sold in October, nearly double the total achieved by the TL and TSX a year ago.

America's leading premium brand car line, BMW's 3-Series and 4-Series, finished the month 49,224-unit year-to-date lead over the next-best-selling premium brand car, Lexus's ES, and a 23,793-unit year-to-date lead over the next-best-selling premium brand vehicle, Lexus's RX. The RX leads the Acura MDX in the luxury SUV standings by 30,641 units. The Cadillac SRX is 8284 units back of the Acura heading into November.

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.

November 2014 • September 2014 • October 2013

Rank	Premium Brand Vehicle	October 2014	October 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	BMW 3-Series & 4-Series *	13,621	11,715	16.3%	108,066	89,636	20.6%
#2	Lexus RX	8057	7979	1.0%	84,273	81,258	3.7%
#3	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	7412	6548	13.2%	57,582	73,144	-21.3%
#4	Lexus ES	5932	5997	-1.1%	58,842	58,073	1.3%
#5	Acura MDX	5324	5608	-5.1%	53,632	40,411	32.7%
#6	BMW 5-Series	4914	5020	-2.1%	44,082	43,701	0.9%
#7	Acura TLX	4890	---	---	11,060	---	---
#8	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	3936	6456	-39.0%	56,544	52,462	7.8%
#9	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3797	3113	22.0%	35,911	32,513	10.5%
#10	Lexus IS	3771	3570	5.6%	40,809	25,630	59.2%
#11	Cadillac SRX	3640	5373	-32.3%	45,348	45,879	-1.2%
#12	Audi Q5	3571	3380	5.7%	33,685	31,979	5.3%
#13	BMW X5	3355	2140	56.7%	36,376	33,420	8.8%
#14	Acura RDX	3178	3333	-4.7%	36,273	36,872	-1.6%
#15	Cadillac CTS	3096	2073	49.3%	26,017	26,483	-1.8%

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	October 2014	October 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	BMW 5-Series	4914	5020	-2.1%	44,082	43,701	0.9%
#2	Chevrolet Suburban	4615	5648	-18.3%	43,203	40,228	7.4%
#3	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	3936	6456	-39.0%	56,544	52,462	7.8%
#4	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3797	3113	22.0%	35,911	32,513	10.5%
#5	BMW X5	3355	2140	56.8%	36,376	33,420	8.8%
#6	GMC Yukon	2977	3021	-1.5%	33,661	21,928	53.5%
#7	Chevrolet Corvette	2959	3929	-24.7%	28,909	11,759	146%
#8	Mercedes-Benz S-Class	2666	1914	39.3%	19,581	9539	105%
#9	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	2410	2565	-6.0%	20,138	24,747	-18.6%
#10	GMC Yukon XL	2148	3489	-38.4%	24,076	25,435	-5.3%
#11	Cadillac Escalade	2143	1814	18.1%	23,545	18,357	28.3%
	Cadillac Escalade ^	1390	1069	30.0%	15,095	10,022	50.6%
	Cadillac Escalade ESV ^	753	608	23.8%	8400	6524	28.8
	Cadillac Escalade EXT ^	---	137	-100%	50	1811	-97.2%
#12	Lexus GX460	1936	1498	29.2%	17,935	8603	109%
#13	Audi Q7	1738	1403	23.9%	14,843	12,175	21.9%
#14	BMW 7-Series	1680	623	170%	7944	9196	-13.6%
#15	Lexus GS	1365	1293	5.6%	17,617	15,548	13.3%

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 $44,600.
^ Escalade breakdown by variant
In October, Infiniti sold 1258 copies of the Q50's predecessor, the G sedan, and 496 Q60s to go along with 2964 Q50s.
* 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 25% to 2268 in October.
Cadillac's new CTS - 3096 October sales - starts at $45,100, but the lingering CTS Coupe is a sub-$40K car, and the wagon starts at $42,195.

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Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - November 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - September 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - October 2013

Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - October 2014
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - October 2014
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - October 2014
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - October 2014 YTD