October 2012 U.S. Large Luxury Car Sales And Large Luxury SUV Sales

The Last Q45 Was Not What
You'd Call Conventionally Pretty

Lacking a Q45 to fight Lexus and the Germans at the top end of the luxury category, Infiniti is currently missing out on a huge opportunity to separate the brand from Acura. More importantly, Nissan is missing out on a chance to provide Infiniti with a halo model, a car not only capable of stealing some large luxury market share but also improving the fortunes of other Infinitis.

There is, however, one Infiniti which sells in relatively large numbers, a vehicle that makes Lexus and Acura look more like... well, Infiniti. In almost every premium category, Lexus has a model that sells more frequently than the equivalent Infiniti. The RX outsells the Infiniti JX, EX, and FX combined, and does so with thousands of units to spare. The ES and GS both make the Infiniti M look supremely weak.  Lexus's IS doesn't find as many buyers as the Infiniti G, but Acura sells three different potential G rivals, and together they easily outsell the G.

Large Luxury SUV Sales Chart
Click Either Chart For A Larger View

Infiniti does sell QX56 SUVs very well, however. Out-selling the regular-wheelbase Cadillac Escalade in its home market is no easy feat. True, the Benz GL is way out in front, but the Infiniti QX56 sells 2.7 times for every single Lexus LX570. Yes, 2012 has been a particularly good year for the QX, on track to be nearly as good as its best-ever year, 2005, when the overall market was much larger.

In October 2012, the QX56 outsold its Lexus rival by a 4-to-1 count. The LX570 starts at $80,930. The QX starts at $60K and tops out around $81,000 with all options and accessories. It helps to be the value-priced machine. 

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

Acura doesn't offer a vehicle in this segment: the MDX starts at $43,280 and doesn't have the African roots of the QX or the Land Cruiser background of the LX.

Large Luxury Car Sales Chart

But again, Infiniti has no S-Class rival, no 7-Series fighter, no LS alternative. 4652 large luxury sedans found buyers in the United States in October 2012. The second-best-selling Lexus owned 18% of the segment. Porsche and Jaguar were feeding from the bottom of the barrel with just 10% and 6% of the category, respectively. Even so, Jaguar grabbed more large luxury car market share than Infiniti and Acura managed. Not that Jaguar should be teaching lessons about total volume.

As will always be the case in the future, historic brand and corporate totals (monthly and yearly going back to 2002) are now available through the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats page, along with results for more than 260 currently sold vehicles. That's where you'll find out that the Lexus LS was the best-selling large luxury car in America in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

After the jump you'll find detailed October 2012 and year-to-date U.S. sales figures for seven high-end luxury cars and eight premium SUVs. If the vehicle you're looking for isn't grouped together with these premium-priced vehicles, check out this luxury SUV/CUV section or the mainstream alternative.

Large Luxury Car	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Audi A8	591	+ 54.7%	4561	0.0%
BMW 6-Series	770	+ 86.0%	6252	+ 138%
BMW 7-Series	634	- 42.5%	8737	- 1.3%
Jaguar XJ	260	- 15.0%	4197	- 6.9%
Lexus LS	834	- 29.7%	5750	- 23.9%
Mercedes-Benz S-Class	1096	+ 18.2%	9310	- 5.0%
Porsche Panamera	467	- 23.6%	6451	+ 11.3%

Large Luxury SUV	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Cadillac Escalade & Escalade ESV/EXT	1832	- 20.7%	18,269	- 8.6%
Infiniti QX56	1467	+ 17.9%	10,957	+ 6.9%
Land Rover Range Rover	403	- 49.3%	6457	- 20.1%
Lexus LX570	366	+ 37.6%	4126	+ 60.0%
Lincoln Navigator	792	+ 8.5%	6614	+ 4.1%
Mercedes-Benz G-Class	160	+ 100%	911	- 15.4%
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	2296	+ 7.9%	19,854	+ 2.7%
Toyota Land Cruiser	259	+ 89.1%	2333	+ 71.2%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC

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Large Luxury Car Sales In America - October 2013 YTD
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Large Luxury Car & SUV Sales In America - September 2012
Large Luxury Car & SUV Sales In America - October 2011
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - October 2012 & YTD
Small/Entry & Midsize Luxury Car Sales In America - October 2012
Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In America - October 2012