Lexus vs. Acura vs. Infiniti: U.S. Sales 2006-2015

The late 80s were a time of great revolution for the Japanese auto industry. Not only did Honda forge an upmarket path with Acura, but compatriot automakers Nissan and Toyota did the same with Infiniti, and Lexus, respectively.

The path has not been a straightforward one for Infiniti. Sales in 2015 will rise for a a third consecutive year and will reach an eight-year high, perhaps even a ten-year high-water mark. But Infiniti is still not able to fully replicate the success of 2004 and 2005, when the newly launched G35 captured hearts and potential BMW 3-Series buyers. 

The market has expanded – interest in luxury cars is rising. Infiniti rests hope on new entry-level machines, the Mercedes-Benz CLA-based Q30 and QX30. That should help produce greater volume, something Infiniti dealers sorely lack.

Acura is another story, though one let down in recent years by lackluster passenger car efforts. The brand which built its image on affordable performance and supremely reliable entry-level luxury sedans doesn't have the reliability reputation now that it did in the 90s, nor does Acura offer any affordable performance car. 

Click Chart To Expand

Acura will attempt in the next year to restore performance credibility with the second-generation NSX supercar, but that rarely seen machine won't change the fact that young men once wanted an Integra GS-R, and now Acura must wait and hope that those young men, grow up, get married, have kids, and want an MDX. 

Acura sales in 2015 are expected to rise to an eight-year high, as befits any automaker in a record-setting year for auto sales seven years removed from the beginning of a recession. Acura sold 210,000 new vehicles in 2005, the year before our chart began. Sales in 2015 are down approximately 16% since then. 

Acura sold 137,938 cars, 54,121 MDXs, and the first 9164 RDXs in 2006. In 2015, Acura will be lucky to sell 70,000 cars and MDX sales are down 12% year-over-year. The MDX and RDX now account for 61% of brand-wide sales.

By far the most successful Japanese luxury entrant is Toyota's Lexus division. Not only does Lexus dominate this post's accompanying sales chart, Lexus was also the top-selling premium auto brand in America for 11 consecutive years between 2000 and 2010, pipping not only its Japanese foes but Cadillac, Lincoln, and the Germans, too.

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U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - November 2015 YTD
U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - November 2015 YTD
U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - November 2015 YTD

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In 2015's first 11 months, Lexus' utility vehicles are up 30% to 152,427 sales, equal to slightly more than half the brand's year-to-date sales. The RX is the brand's top seller and America's top-selling premium brand utility vehicle overall, 27,000 sales ahead of the second-ranked Cadillac SRX. 

Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures. Follow on Twitter @goodcarbadcar and on Facebook.

Auto News For November 24, 2015 - Audi Has A 3.0L Diesel Software Fix

Here are the five must-read, must-watch auto news stories, recalls and videos for Tuesday, November 24, 2015.

FUTURE
BMW’s latest Concept Compact Sedan is a handsome little thing that previews a sub-3-Series entry-level BMW. The car was introduced at an auto show in Guangzhou, China, but there’s no reason to believe this couldn’t be a global model. 

DIESEL
There’s a fix for 3.0L diesel engines, Audi announced yesterday. The software update needs to be approved by the EPA and CARB, but the news suggests that 85,000 Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen vehicles with the 3.0L diesel can be remedied with software alone. 

DETROIT
Jaguar and Land Rover won’t display cars at the upcoming North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The two Indian-owned British luxury automakers prefer to emphasize auto shows in New York and Los Angeles. 

REVIEW
The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Neil praises the new fourth-gen Lexus RX plenty, but also notes that, "The preproduction RX I drove sounds kind of thrumming and unhappy in the lower rpms, around town, and the 8-speeder shifts like it’s just trying to stay busy.” 

WATCH 
Curiously, Fiat USA’s recent commercial, featuring Pentatonix, aired during the American Music Awards and failed to display in any meaningful way the company’s latest model, the 500X.

November 2012 Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America

America's 20 top-selling SUVs and crossovers accounted for 219,682 of America's 1.14 million new vehicle sales in November 2012. The Ford Escape trailed the leading Honda CR-V by 1363 units, but was the highest-selling of four American brand SUVs in the top five. Year-to-date, the CR-V's 15,042-unit lead over the Escape is not something that can be overcome in December, particularly if CR-V sales continue to rise and Escape sales continue to fall.

The chief newcomer on November 2012's list of the 20 best-selling SUVs and crossovers in America is the Nissan Pathfinder. With 23% of its year-to-date sales coming in the eleventh month of the year, the Pathfinder nameplate owes much to the fourth-gen model that was recently introduced with more of a crossover angle. 

The best Pathfinder sales year in the last decade was 2005, when 76,156 were sold. It seems unlikely that Nissan could sell 8000 Pathfinders each month now, but if it did, that 96,000 annual rate would have a hugely negative impact on the Murano, or at least one would think. Ford is doing a fine job of selling a big crossover-that-used-to-be-a-truck, the Explorer, alongside the smaller Edge and the better-selling Escape. Perhaps Nissan can do the same with the Pathfinder, smaller Murano, and better-selling Rogue.

All 265 Vehicles Ranked By U.S. November 2012 YTD Sales
12 different auto brands are represented in this month's top 20 list, although they hail from just eight different auto manufacturing entities. The Lexus RX was the only premium brand vehicle to crack the top 20, although you will soon be seeing in this month's luxury SUV sales post that Cadillac SRX sales shot up 13% to 5340 and BMW had a great month with the X5 and X3. 

GoodCarBadCar makes all these sales figures readily available through the Sales Stats homepage where you can select any make, model, overarching manufacturer, or the total market. America's 20 best-selling cars have already been published along with brand-by-brand rankings and the country's five favourite trucks.

Rank	Best-Selling SUV	November 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Honda CR-V	22,333	+ 36.0%	255,919	+ 30.0%
#2	Ford Escape	20,970	- 3.9%	240,877	+ 5.3%
#3	Chevrolet Equinox	16,821	+ 12.6%	199,070	+ 13.7%
#4	Ford Explorer	14,940	+ 15.9%	146,963	+ 20.6%
#5	Jeep Grand Cherokee	13,619	+ 0.5%	137,613	+ 24.7%
#6	Nissan Rogue	12,662	+ 16.8%	130,861	+ 16.6%
#7	Toyota RAV4	12,423	+ 9.6%	157,526	+ 33.3%
#8	Kia Sorento	10,851	+ 12.2%	108,630	- 9.2%
#9	Jeep Wrangler	10,337	+ 12.1%	130,124	+ 17.2%
#10	Ford Edge	10,142	+ 4.7%	115,535	+ 5.4%
#11	Toyota Highlander	9474	+ 13.2%	108,864	+ 21.7%
#12	Honda Pilot	9366	- 10.7%	103,482	- 1.1%
#13	Lexus RX	8871	+ 17.0%	82,847	+ 16.5%
#14	GMC Terrain	8158	+ 44.3%	86,270	+ 14.3%
#15	Nissan Pathfinder	8097	+ 249%	34,682	+ 49.0%
#16	Hyundai Santa Fe	6754	+ 10.2%	63,737	- 8.0%
#17	Dodge Journey	6569	+ 77.0%	71,875	+ 42.5%
#18	Chevrolet Tahoe	5895	- 29.8%	60,302	- 16.4%
#19	Subaru Forester	5703	- 2.2%	67,583	- 0.02%
#20	Chevrolet Traverse	5697	- 20.3%	78,176	- 20.1%

Source: Manufacturers
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - November 2013
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - December 2012
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - October 2012
Top 10 Best-Selling SUVs In America - November 2011
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - November 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - November 2012
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - November 2012
Top 5 Best-Selling Trucks In America - November 2012

Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - 2011 Year End

The Volvo S60 was Canada's 31st-best-selling
premium vehicle in 2011

The Hyundai Genesis was sold 3625 times in Canada in 2011. There's no doubt that the $53,499 Genesis 5.0 R-Spec is a luxury car, so why don't the 3625 Genesis sales net the Hyundai a 13th-place finish on this list of Canada's 30 best-selling premium vehicles? After all, the Genesis was granted 14th spot in the U.S. edition.

Here's the Hyundai's problem, a problem we, as sales stats addicts, would rather Hyundai Canada didn't fix: we know that only 816 of those Genesis sales were Genesis sedans. Hyundai says so. There's no convincing GoodCarBadCar that the Genesis Coupe is a "premium vehicle", so the Genesis goes into the Canadian fight with just 816 sedan sales, whereas Hyundai USA doesn't split the two cars and entered the U.S. fight with 32,998 sales. What about the Equus? Only 116 were sold, not a bad achievement, but not nearly good enough to enter this hallowed ground.

As for the cars you do see here, BMW's 3-Series came out on top despite its 20% year-over-year decline. Just as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is getting close, there's a very good all-new Good 12-winning 3-Series. The 3-Series and C-Class have other rivals in fourth, 13th, 17th, 21st, and 27th, even 14th, 23rd, and 25th if you want to be loose about things. The Lexus RX was third on this list, but among premium utilities, the RX's victory was 1426 units strong in an off year. America's best-selling premium vehicle was the Lincoln MKX. Sales of the Ford Edge-based crossover increased 3% in a market which grew 1.9%. Keep in mind, Detroit's second-best-selling premium vehicle in Canada wasn't a car, either. The Cadillac SRX beat the CTS by 149 sales.

The Acura ILX is the next Civic-based Acura, following up on
the 1.6EL, 1.7EL, and CSX. It'll be sold in America, too.

For those who struggle to consider the Mercedes-Benz B-Class and Honda Civic-based Acura CSX to be premium contenders, a continuation of the top 30 would reveal the Volvo S60, Lincoln MKZ, Range Rover Sport, Lexus CT200h, Audi A3, and BMW X6 to be the next-best-selling vehicles. You can find monthly and yearly sales figures for those models and every other nameplate on sale by accessing the dropdown menu at the top right of this page.

Rank	Best-Selling Luxury Vehicle	2011	2010	% Change
#1	BMW 3-Series	11,226	14,009	- 19.9%
#2	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	9447	8090	+ 16.8%
#3	Lexus RX	6760	7383	- 8.4%
#4	Audi A4	5480	5211	+ 5.2%
#5	Acura MDX	5334	5994	- 11.0%
#6	Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class	5294	5852	- 9.5%
#7	BMW X3	4671	2840	+ 64.5%
#8	Lincoln MKX	4595	4458	+ 3.1%
#9	Audi Q5	4502	3060	+ 47.1%
#10	BMW X5	4155	4012	+ 3.6%
#11	Mercedes-Benz E & CLS-Class	3898	3914	- 0.4%
#12	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3846	3871	- 0.6%
#13	Infiniti G	3603	4408	- 18.3%
#14	Acura TL	3229	2895	+ 11.5%
#15	Cadillac SRX	3197	2918	+ 9.6%
#16	Acura RDX	3070	3163	- 2.9%
#17	Cadillac CTS	3048	2974	+ 2.5%
#18	BMW X1	2980	-----	-----
#19	BMW 5-Series	2963	2382	+ 24.4%
#20	Mercedes-Benz B-Class	2440	2994	- 18.5%
#21	Lexus IS	2235	2233	+ 0.1%
#22	Audi A5	1948	2309	- 15.6%
#23	Lexus ES	1892	2688	- 29.6%
#24	Volvo XC60	1865	1540	+ 21.1%
#25	Acura CSX	1795	2064	- 13.0%
#26	Mercedes-Benz G & GL-Class	1722	1437	+ 19.8%
#27	Acura TSX	1659	2297	- 27.8%
#28	Audi Q7	1565	1247	+ 25.5%
#29	BMW 1-Series	1556	1764	- 11.8%
#30	Infiniti EX	1521	1925	- 21.0%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC 
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - 2012 Year End
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - January 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - December 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - 2010 Year End

Canada Auto Sales By Brand - 2011 Year End
Canada's Luxury Auto Brand Market Share Chart - 2011 Year End

Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - 2011 Year End

With a few simple rules in place, we can say with certainty that no car on the U.S. market posted a more drastic year-over-year sales decline than the Lexus HS250h in 2011. Down 73.1%, sales of the Lexus HS sedan fell from 10,663 in 2010 to just 2864 in 2011 as more and more consumers realized how awful the HS is, and more and more Lexus buyers turned to the CT200h, 14,381 of which were sold in 2011. The Acura ZDX and Hyundai Azera also lost more than half their volume in 2011.

60% of the cars on America's Worst-Selling Cars By Percentage Decline list were Japanese. There was one (questionably eligible) Korean, two Germans, and one Swede. One car from GoodCarBadCar's 2012 Bad 8 made an appearance. Two cars from 2011's Bad 8 landed a spot in the first table below.

The other two tables rank worst sellers by volume. With just 1524 sales, the Hyundai Azera was out-sold by every other uncancelled, still-marketed car in America. Suzuki landed three vehicles on the first list, including the attractive midsize Kizashi. The Chevrolet Volt is here; the Nissan LEAF is not. 

When all vehicles, including ultra-luxury cars, are thrown into the mix, all those mainstream cars escape worst seller status. In their place you'll find three Mercedes-Benz cars and one Mercedes SUV, one Porsche, one Audi, one Saab, and two supremely quick Japanese sports cars. And the Bad 8's Acura RL.

Care to escape the negativity? America's 2011 year end best seller lists start with this Ford F-Series-winning 30 best-selling vehicles table.

Updated @ 9:09 AST on 01.11.12 w/ corrected Volvo numbers

Rank	Worst-Selling Car  By Percentage Decline	% Drop	2011	2010
#1	Lexus HS250h	- 73.1%	2864	10,663
#2	Acura ZDX	- 52.0%	1564	3259
#3	Hyundai Azera	- 50.0%	1524	3051
#4	Lexus GS	- 46.9%	3746	7059
#5	Acura RL	- 46.2%	1096	2037
#6	Honda Ridgeline	- 39.5%	9759	16,142
#7	Mercedes-Benz SL-Class	- 39.2%	1449	2385
#8	Nissan Cube	- 37.0%	14,459	22,968
#9	Volvo S80	- 34.5%	4735	7225
#10	BMW 1-Series	- 32.7%	8832	13,132

Rank	Worst-Selling Non-Premium Car By Volume	2011	2010	% Change
#1	Hyundai Azera	1524	3051	- 50.0%
#2	Suzuki Equator	2127	1447	+ 47.0%
#3	Subaru Tribeca	2791	2472	+ 12.9%
#4	Suzuki Grand Vitara	4980	4478	+ 11.2%
#5	smart fortwo	5208	5927	- 12.1%
#6	Mazda MX-5 Miata	5674	6370	- 10.9%
#7	Suzuki Kizashi	6942	6138	+ 13.1%
#8	Nissan 370Z	7328	10,215	- 28.3%
#9	Volkswagen Eos	7533	6690	+ 12.6%
#10	Chevrolet Volt	7671	326	+ 2253%

Rank	Worst-Selling Car  By Volume (All Vehicles)	2011	2010	% Change
#1	Lexus LFA	62	-----	-----
#2	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG	722	499	+ 44.7%
#3	Mercedes-Benz CL-Class	943	1035	- 8.9%
#4	Acura RL	1096	2037	- 46.2%
#5	Audi R8	1145	799	+ 43.3%
#6	Mercedes-Benz G-Class	1191	919	+ 29.6%
#7	Nissan GT-R	1294	877	+ 47.5%
#8	Porsche Cayman	1377	1322	+ 4.2%
#9	Mercedes-Benz SL-Class	1449	2385	- 39.2%
#10	Saab 9-5	1496	727	+ 106%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC 
Vehicle must have been on sale at the beginning and through the end of 2011, must not have been officially cancelled by its manufacturer, must have been showcased on manufacturer's website through the end of the year, and must have been eligible for worst seller status in each of 2011's twelve months. 

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Worst-Selling Vehicles In America - 2012 Year End
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - January 2012
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - December 2011
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - November 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - 2011 Year End

Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - December 2011

Porsche Cayman R

Factored out three ways, these were America's worst-selling cars in December 2011. Numerous cars in the first list of Worst Sellers By Percentage Decline create no surprise by their presence. 

The Saab 9-3 and 9-5 come from a company that's mostly/definitely/completely/probably dead. The two Lexus sedans and two Acuras make frequent appearances here. 

In the light of the better-in-almost-every-way Kia Soul, the Nissan Cube is proving to be less and less desirable. Meanwhile, most Mercedes-Benz CL-Class customers would veer towards the SLS AMG or the newer BMW 6-Series.

In the second list, one which groups non-premium cars (a hard to define category) by volume, the barely-marketed Hyundai Azera and Suzuki Equator present themselves as likely candidates every month. The Mitsubishi i MiEV and Chevrolet Caprice PPV stand little chance of escaping. Scion's iQ is brand new to market, so is the Buick Verano.

The third list takes into account vehicle of all types and groups them by volume. Here, the ultra-exclusive Lexus LFA stands no chance of escaping top spot. The 9-4X takes over from Saab's 9-3 and 9-5. Apart from the fast-declining Porsche Boxster and Cayman, most cars here either belong or, because of their niche status, will always struggle to escape worst seller status.

Last month's version of this American worst-selling cars post is here. The more exciting 2011 year end results are up now, as well. Care to alter the rules and form your own worst selling cars list for December 2011? Use the dropdown menu at the top right of this page or the Sales Stats page to source the sales data for every model on sale, tally them up, and submit your list through the About GCBC section or in the comments.

Rank	Worst-Selling Car  By Percentage Decline	% Drop	December 2011	December 2010
#1	Saab 9-3	- 83.2%	137	815
#2	Lexus HS250h	- 75.6%	274	1121
#3	Lexus GS	- 75.0%	194	777
#4	Porsche Boxster	- 72.3%	38	137
#5	Acura ZDX	- 66.0%	86	253
#6	Acura RL	- 64.5%	50	141
#7	Nissan Cube	- 62.6%	406	1085
#8	Saab 9-5	- 61.4%	100	259
#9	Mercedes-Benz CL-Class	- 59.0%	57	139
#10	Honda Insight	- 57.8%	690	1637

Rank	Worst-Selling  Non-Premium Car  By Volume	December 2011	December 2010	% Change
#1	Hyundai Azera	18	162	- 88.9%
#2	Mitsubishi i MiEV	76	-----	-----
#3	Chevrolet Caprice PPV	99	-----	-----
#4	Suzuki Equator	164	131	+ 25.2%
#5	Scion iQ	248	-----	-----
#6	Buick Verano	261	-----	-----
#7	Subaru Tribeca	324	227	+ 42.7%
#8	Mazda MX-5 Miata	339	352	- 3.7%
#9	Nissan Cube	406	1085	- 62.6%
#10	Volkswagen Eos	419	359	- 16.7%

Rank	Worst-Selling Car  By Volume (All Vehicles)	December 2011	December 2010	% Change
#1	Lexus LFA	10	-----	-----
#2	Hyundai Azera	18	162	- 88.9%
#3	Saab 9-4X	33	-----	-----
#4	Nissan GT-R	35	38	- 7.9%
#5	Porsche Boxster	38	137	- 72.3%
#6	Acura RL	50	141	- 64.5%
#7	Mercedes-Benz G-Class	55	84	- 34.5%
#8	Porsche Cayman	67	112	- 40.2%
#9	Mitsubishi i MiEV	76	-----	-----
T10	Acura ZDX	86	253	- 66.0%
T10	Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG	86	48	+ 79.2%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC 
Vehicle must have been on sale in December, must not have been officially cancelled by its manufacturer, and must have been showcased on manufacturer's website through the end of December.  

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Worst-Selling Vehicles In America - December 2012
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - 2011 Year End
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - January 2012
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - November 2011
Top 10 Worst-Selling Cars In America - October 2011
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - December 2011