BMW Narrowly Takes 2015 US Luxury Sales Crown For The Fourth Time In Five Years

Cue the Audi apologists...

2016 will be interesting.

Audi's new A4 will be out and we'll see if it has any impact or will buyers go for the similarly-sized, similarly-styled but less expensive A3. The Q7 will be at full run but will people care for a homely-looking, more expensive, space-compromised big wagon?

BMW's new 7 will be at full swing but can it encroach on the S-Class' dominance? At least until the updated 5 comes out, will there be a lull in new product introduction for the brand?

Mercedes new GLC will be at full production and much better than the GLK, the new C-coupe will be introduced (and possibly the cabrio version), and the new E will be out. Those three are strong volume-drivers so it will be interesting to see how they impact the numbers.

Lexus had a solid 2015 due to the introduction of several new models (RC, NX, RX). The question is, will the new RX continue to resonate with buyers with the very edgy styling or will they opt for less adventurous options? MB's new GLC had a strong showing in its first full month and could be a foil for the RX, as could the Caddie XT5. Outside of that, what other new products does Lexus have upcoming this year (production not concept) to continue the momentum?

Cadillac should be rolling out with the new CT6 pretty soon. I believe production was originally slated to start at the end of last year. Will this help push-start some momentum for the brand? And the new XT5 (and GLC) should really pose a threat to the new Lexus RX as even the ancient SRX was still a strong seller.

Infiniti will be introducing the new Q60 sometimes this year. They had a strong December showing, but I would guess they pushed some major incentives. The upcoming QX30 should have an impact, but is it really the right product to serve as an entry point to a luxury brand? Is Infiniti really doing itself an injustice by completely neglecting the upper end of its model range?

Acura's NSX should give the brand some exposure this year (good or bad) so what does Acura do with that? They can't keep relying on 3 models to support the brand. I've a feeling they will struggle this year with no significant new attainable products on the horizon. It seems the company has switched to focusing on the revival of the Civic. If they had any sense, they would be rolling out (rumored/promised) Type-R versions of the ILX and TLX at the same time the NSX is rolling off the production lines.

According to this article, the top luxury brands in the US are:
#1: BMW
#2: Lexus
#3: Mercedes Benz
...and then all the rest.

As much as I dislike Lexus's styling (a LOT!), they're obviously doing something very right to be #2. I wonder what the global picture looks like.

Yes and no on Lexus, Steve. I think Lexus might be sticking themselves in a Tier II position by focusing so much on their entry-to-low-mid-level volume. Their top sellers were the ES and RX and the NX added strongly to that. The LS, GS, GX, and LX weren't anywhere competitive with the like products from BMW and Benz. I think Audi is somewhat in the same boat since their numbers were bolstered by their A3, Q3, and Q5. BMW and Benz have a better distribution of sales in the overall picture.

But the tier I are playing more and more in tier II playground. So the lines are now blurred quite a bit.

Lexus is FINALLY realizing that a soft cuddly approach can only gathering a small slice of the market.

The true tier I customer wants technology, luxury, performance, quality, and exclusivity.

Lexus was missing many of the marks with the old lineup.

Tier I buyers snub "almost as good as a BMW"

I don't disagree with that, 009. But, the problem here is that Lexus may be trying to play in the Tier I playground, but it is easily losing. So, the clear evidence is that when it's time to pony-up $60k+ for a car, buyers are more readily going to BMW or Mercedes. The numbers don't lie.

Lexus is only what people are buying but they are not targeting tier II. If people start buying more LS' trust they have no problem building more.

poot66, you reinforce my point. Lexus is selling more entry-to-mid level cars because buyers don't go to them for Tier I products. And as a matter of fact, Lexus is targeting them. They have four sub-$40k cars, a sub-$40k SUV, and a $41k SUV, not to mention they've intentionally added the turbo-4 option to the RC and GS to lower the price points.

They also make the RC-F GS-F and LFA, what they are doing is running a business and offering things that to make sense them, with the hopes that consumers bite. I'm not sure what you are suggesting Lexus do if consumers want 2.0t vs their 3.5.

Supply and demand is a simple concept, whatever the hell people are willing to buy, sell it to them. That is not the same as Lexus targeting or intentionally making themselves a tier II company(which they are not).

First of all, the LFA hasn't been in production for over a year.

Secondly, you reinforce my point once again. The reality is this: Buyers are not flocking to Lexus for their mid-to-high-priced models at the same volume they are going to the Germans. If Lexus wasn't supplying them, then buyers wouldn't be purchasing them.

@ cidflekken. You seem to be a little biased on Lexus focusing on entry level. With the exception of MB, no one can claim that their sales was due to mid/high level vehicles. (Even MB was boosted by C, GLA and GLC, CLA).

BMW - 3/4 series are entry as it can be. The majority of 3 series sold are 320/328. X3 is also a volume driver and an entry. Only X5 is the only mid level, but then, in December Lexus LX and GX numbers are equal to X5.

LEXUS - granted, NX and IS are entry. ES is in a blurred line as they can easily (and most) be between $42-47K. RC (not an entry) was a driver for their increase in December, RX is no longer an entry, they are well at $50K.

AUDI - the only brand that increase was due to 100% entry level (A3, A4, Q5)

There's no bias at all. It's all in the numbers, my friend.

ALL brands were boosted by their lower-to-mid level cars. But when you compare the mid-to-higher level cars, the disparity is more than clear. Compare the YTD for the GS/LS/GX/LX vs. the 5/7/X5/X6 or the E/S/GLE/GLS. And let's not forget that the RX starts $10k below the X5 and GLE.

Everyone is all about the numbers but yet there's a discussion about how it's the entry level cars making all the noise.
Let's look at the % of the total of the higher end cars.
The Germans look pretty much on par (percentage wise). Lexus, well not so much.

A6 + A7 - 30,571 or 15.12%
5 + 6 series - 52,308 or 15.12%
E + CLS - 55,888 or 16.29%
GS - 23,117 or 6.71%

This shows just how much the S-class dominates. But the others are on par with each other.
A8 - 4,990 or 2.47%
7 series - 9,292 or 2.69%
S - 21,934 or 6.39%
LS - 7,165 or 2.08%

The bread and butter for each make?
Q5 - 52,006 or 25.72%
3 and 4 - 140,609 or 40.64%
c - 55,888 or 33.73%
RX - 100,610 or 29.20%

Simply put, you can see which models lead the way for each brand (trying to keep the model lineups in sync)
Not defending Audi, but if ilovecar2015 believes 100% of Audi's sales are due to A3/4/5 & Q5 (which total 65.65%), then Lexus' success is due to the IS/RC, ES and RX - 65.81%.
BMW would be the 3/4, 5/6 and X5 - 71.65% and MB c, E/CLS and S-class - 59.51%.

If you throw in Bentley, Rolls, etc, now S class appears to be the value model. The logic of cidflekken is nonsense. LFA should trump the others sense they have no super car in there lineup.

Do you even understand what we're comparing here? We're comparing brands that are supposedly targeting the same luxury-buying crowd. We're not talking about the .01% of the 1%. Bentley and Rolls belong in a category above Tier 1 brands, in the Ultra-Luxury category.

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@hangtime. I said 100% of Audi gain was due to A3/A4/Q5, not their entire sales were made up of these 3 models.

@cidflekken. Agreed with you with most what you said. Just one point I have to say. While it's unfair to compare ES/RX to X5/GLE because of the price difference, it's also unfair to compare ES/RX to 3-series/X3/GLK as well because they are also priced higher than the Germans.

Lexus strategy was value, and they always priced in the middle of X3/X5, GLK/GLE etc. I guess the best comparison is to see how much the average transaction price for each automaker.