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

12% more U.S. new car buyers opted to purchase or lease a new BMW 3-Series or 4-Series in February 2014 than in February 2013, an increase of 818 units.

• All Vehicles & Brands Ranked By February 2014 YTD U.S. Sales

The 3-Series and its 4-Series two-door offshoot led all contenders for the best-selling luxury vehicle crown by more than 2100 units. Seven of the 15 leaders were premium brand utility vehicles. The 3-Series was joined by seven other passenger cars in the top 15.

The 3-Series/4-Series tandem's growth was not rare among upmarket vehicles in February 2014, although the overall new vehicle market was level. Only five of the nameplates in the top 15 attracted fewer new customers this February than they did a year ago.

That stagnant market hosted notable declines from Volkswagen, Dodge, Honda, Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, and Chevrolet. But February volume at Maserati, Lincoln, Jaguar, Porsche, Lexus, Infiniti, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Land Rover, Acura, and Audi all increased. (Yes, Audi, too: sales at the four-ringed brand increased by four units.) 

Volvo's struggles continued despite the V60's arrival. Cadillac slid 3%. But premium brands were mostly in the black in February 2014.

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.

February 2015 - March 2014 - January 2014 - February 2013

Rank	Luxury Vehicle	February 2014	February 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	BMW 3-Series & 4-Series *	7791	6973	11.7%	14,285	11,804	21.0%
#2	Lexus RX	5682	6938	-18.1%	11,289	12,332	-8.5%
#3	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	5621	7302	-23.0%	11,369	14,516	-21.7%
#4	Cadillac SRX	5058	4108	23.1%	9504	8488	12.0%
#5	Acura MDX	4563	2946	54.9%	8804	5521	59.5%
#6	Lexus ES	4360	4817	-9.5%	8319	10,003	-16.8%
#7	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	4271	4211	1.4%	9537	9680	-1.5%
#8	BMW 5-Series	3818	4248	-10.1%	7087	6833	3.7%
#9	Lexus IS	3517	1532	130%	6565	2918	125%
#10	BMW X3	3301	2175	51.8%	6000	4180	43.5%
#11	Infiniti Q50 ^	3275	---	---	6224	---	---
#12	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3258	2733	19.2%	6082	5661	7.4%
#13	Lincoln MKZ	3044	945	222%	5166	1398	270%
#14	BMW X5	2912	3931	-25.9%	5666	8015	-29.3%
#15	Acura RDX	2911	2795	4.2%	5641	5284	6.8%

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	February 2014	February 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
#1	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	4271	4211	1.4%	9537	9680	-1.5%
#2	BMW 5-Series	3818	4248	-10.1%	7087	6833	3.7%
#3	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3258	2733	19.2%	6082	5661	7.4%
#4	BMW X5	2912	3931	-25.9%	5666	8015	-29.3%
#5	Chevrolet Corvette	2438	980	149%	4699	1888	149%
#6	Chevrolet Suburban	2035	3745	-45.7%	3740	6037	-38.0%
#7	GMC Yukon	1949	2572	-24.2%	3236	4262	-24.1%
#8	Mercedes-Benz S-Class	1789	923	93.8%	3070	1861	65.0%
#9	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	1744	2800	-37.7%	3285	4815	-31.8%
#10	Lexus GX460	1590	628	153%	3033	1361	123%
#11	Lexus GS	1574	1108	42.1%	2874	2207	30.2%
#12	Land Rover Range Rover Sport	1464	1261	16.1%	3076	2512	22.5%
#13	Cadillac Escalade & ESV/EXT ^	1279	1619	-21.0%	2389	3166	-24.5%
#14	Porsche Cayenne	1260	1173	7.4%	2418	2673	-9.5%
#15	Audi Q7	1229	920	33.6%	2497	1809	38.0%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales
$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.
^ In February, Infiniti also sold 927 copies of the Q50's predecessor, the G sedan, and 411 Q60s.
^ The regular-wheelbase Escalade, the best-selling member of the Escalade family, found 776 buyers in February, fewer than, for example, the 1110 managed by the Infiniti QX80 and GMC Yukon XL, the 896 XFs sold by Jaguar, the 869 Range Rovers sold, or the 856 911s Porsche sold.
* BMW USA, not GoodCarBadCar, has chosen to combine sales of the 3-Series and 4-Series.
Cadillac's new CTS - 2509 February sales - starts at $45,100, but the lingering CTS Coupe is a sub-$40K car, and the wagon starts at $42,195.

RECOMMENDED READING
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - February 2015
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - March 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - February 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - January 2014
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - February 2013

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