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

2015 BMW X5
In November 2014, BMW's leading 3-Series lineup, including its 4-Series offshoot, outsold the whole Cadillac brand for the second consecutive month on its way to ending the month as America's top-selling premium brand vehicle. Cadillac wasn't the only mid-tier luxury brand to fall to the 3-Series - Infiniti and Lincoln did, too, among others – but that's a normal occurrence. Even in a difficult 2014, Cadillac typically outsells the leading BMW.


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


BMW also sold 16,317 other vehicles besides the 3-Series/4-Series in November. But while the 3er was up 12%, the BMW brand was down 2%, a loss of 733 units. In the race to end 2014 as America's top-selling premium brand, BMW leads Mercedes-Benz 1830 units. Mercedes-Benz outsold BMW by 3559 units in November to close the gap. 

For brands that once traded on their exclusivity, it's odd to see them chasing volume with such fervency. But chase they do. Mercedes-Benz's two entry-level cars, the C-Class and CLA, ranked third and 13th among premium brand automobiles in November. BMW generated 64% of the brand's November volume with their two entry-level cars and two-entry level SAVs. 

One out of every five Audis sold in November was either an A3 or Q3. The brand's top seller continues to be the Q5, formerly Audi's entry-level utility vehicle. The Q5 ranked 12th among premium brand vehicles last month. 

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.

October 2014November 2013

Rank
Premium Brand Vehicle
November 2014
November
2013
% Change
2014
YTD
2013
YTD
% Change
#1
BMW 3-Series & 4-Series *
14,70213,14811.8%122,768102,78419.4%
#2
Lexus RX
959294931.0%93,86590,7513.4%
#3
Mercedes-Benz C-Class
9259787817.5%66,84181,022-17.5%
#4
Lexus ES
58846295-6.5%64,72664,3680.6%
#5
Acura MDX
52106091-14.5%58,84246,50226.5%
#6
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
5190432819.9%41,10136,84111.6%
#7
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
47378614-45.0%61,28161,0760.3%
#8
Lexus IS
4610397316.0%45,41929,60353.4%
#9
BMW X5
4557266371.9%45,79029,19556.8%
#10
Acura TLX
4233------15,293------
#11
Infiniti Q50
42165891-28.4%33,04413,248149%
#12
Audi Q5
4184358216.8%37,86935,5616.5%
#13
Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
389836237.6%24,70110,828128%
#14
Acura RDX
34363663-6.2%39,70940,535-2.0%
#15
Cadillac SRX
33314823-30.9%48,67950,702-4.0%
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 $45K
November 2014
November
2013
% Change
2014
YTD
2013
YTD
% Change
#1
Chevrolet Tahoe
8027727210.4%86,46774,85615.5%
#2
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
5190432819.9%41,10136,84111.6%
#3
Chevrolet Suburban
50455212-3.2%48,24845,4406.2%
#4
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
47378614-45.0%61,28161,0760.3%
#5
BMW X5
4557266371.9%45,79029,19556.8%
#6
Cadillac Escalade
3237184675.4%26,78220,20332.6%

Cadillac Escalade ^
2106110091.5%17,20111,12254.7%

Cadillac Escalade ESV ^
112865173.3%9528717532.8%

Cadillac Escalade EXT ^
395-96.8%531906-97.2%
#7
GMC Yukon
3179277714.5%36,84024,70549.1%
#8
BMW 5-Series
31055060-38.6%47,18748,761-3.2%
#9
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
306529264.8%23,20327,673-16.2%
#10
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
2863190750.1%22,44411,44696.1%
#11
GMC Yukon XL
24162665-9.3%26,49228,100-5.7%
#12
Chevrolet Corvette
23782527-5.9%31,28714,286119%
#13
Lexus GX460
2043170320.0%19,97810,30693.8%
#14
Lexus GS
1836159015.5%19,45317,13813.5%
#15
Audi Q7
1746152414.6%16,58913,69921.1%
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, and the Audi A6, which starts at $44,800.
^ Escalade breakdown by variant.
* 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 15% to 2699 in November.
Cadillac's new CTS - 2446 November sales - starts at $45,100, but the lingering CTS Coupe is a sub-$40K car, and the wagon starts at $42,195. The ANDC estimates that Tesla sold 2200 copies of the Model S in November, enough to crack the top 15 of the second list, but ANDC estimates for Tesla have typically proven to be on the very high side.

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


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