Small And Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In America - September 2014 YTD

Mercedes-Benz USA sold their first 991 GLA-Class crossovers, also known as CLA-Class hatchbacks, in September 2014. We'll quickly see how the GLA fares in comparison to its two most direct rivals. BMW sold 1840 X1s in September, but X1 sales have fallen 14% this year. Audi sold 1092 Q3s in September, the Q3's first full month on sale.

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• U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - September 2014 YTD
• U.S. SUV Sales Rankings By Model - September 2014 YTD

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These are the tiny contenders in the luxury SUV sector. (Some would add the underpowered, questionably-styled, much more common, and significantly less costly Sonic-based Buick Encore into the mix. 3848 were sold in September.) Move up a notch in terms of size and/or price and the Audi Q5 is currently battling the Acura RDX for U.S. sales supremacy. 

Sitting in GCBC's driveway this week is the fast version of the most popular Audi in America, the SQ5. It's wonderful, and it's also been around for quite a while in its current form. Yet Q5 sales have steadily risen every year since it went on sale in 2009. The Q5 outsold the RDX by ten units in September but trails the RDX by nearly 3000 units heading into the fourth quarter.

Acura is also a dominant player in the three-row premium crossover race. MDX volume is up 39% this year. The Lexus RX is the only premium brand utility vehicle which sells more often than the MDX. 

Back to the GLA, it's worth noting that the term crossover applies here about as well as it does anywhere. The GLA clearly crosses over, and back, from one category to another. (This also tells us just how useless the term "crossover" really is.) The GLA250 4Matic is less than four inches taller than the CLA250 4Matic sedan, 60 inches compared with 56.6, but it's 10.7 inches shorter, road to roof, than the Mercedes-Benz ML350 4Matic.

You can click any model name in the tables below to find historical monthly and yearly U.S. auto sales data. You can also select a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page. These tables are now sortable, so you can rank luxury SUVs and crossovers any which way you like. Suggestions on how GCBC should break down segments can be passed on through the Contact page.

Click Column Headers To Sort • September 2015 • October 2014 • August 2014 • September 2013

Compact Luxury SUV	September 2014	September 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
Audi Q3	1092	---	---	1335	---	---
BMW X1	1840	1844	-0.2%	15,728	18,348	-14.3%
Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class	991	---	---	991	---	---
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	3923	1844	113%	18,054	18,348	-1.6%

Small Luxury SUV	September 2014	September 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
Acura RDX	3230	3022	6.9%	33,095	33,539	-1.3%
Audi Q5	3240	3268	-0.9%	30,114	28,599	5.3%
BMW X3	1808	1580	14.4%	27,198	20,065	35.5%
BMW X4	380	---	---	1043	---	---
Infiniti QX50 / EX	209	177	18.1%	2116	1366	54.9%
Land Rover LR2	449	244	84.0%	3211	2314	38.8%
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque	771	706	9.2%	8986	8169	10.0%
Lincoln MKC	1763	---	---	6418	---	---
Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class	2646	2387	10.9%	28,229	23,285	21.2%
Porsche Macan	702	---	---	4649	---	---
Volvo XC60	1593	1355	17.6%	13,901	15,441	-10.0%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	16,791	12,739	31.8%	158,960	132,778	19.7%

Midsize Luxury SUV	September 2014	September 2013	% Change	2014 YTD	2013 YTD	% Change
Acura MDX	4864	4539	7.2%	48,308	34,803	38.8%
Acura ZDX	3	17	-82.4%	69	323	-78.6%
Audi Q7	1365	1386	-1.5%	13,105	10,772	21.7%
BMW X5	4398	4667	-5.8%	33,021	31,280	5.6%
BMW X6	19	394	-95.2%	2998	3816	-21.4%
Cadillac SRX	3700	4362	-15.2%	41,708	40,506	3.0%
Infiniti QX60/JX	2182	2111	3.4%	22,613	22,667	-0.2%
Infiniti QX70/FX	331	328	0.9%	3993	4667	-14.4%
Land Rover LR4	300	553	-45.8%	3500	5487	-36.2%
Land Rover Range Rover Sport	843	1191	-29.2%	13,633	10,984	24.1%
Lexus GX460	1570	753	108%	15,999	7105	125%
Lexus RX	7453	7601	-1.9%	76,216	73,279	4.0%
Lincoln MKT	259	414	-37.4%	3725	4658	-20.0%
Lincoln MKX	1589	1565	1.5%	18,728	17,398	7.6%
Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3460	3180	8.8%	32,114	29,400	9.2%
Porsche Cayenne	1196	1396	-14.3%	12,940	13,913	-7.0%
Volkswagen Touareg *	646	658	-1.8%	5200	6296	-17.4%
Volvo XC70 *	559	361	54.8%	3748	3639	3.0%
Volvo XC90	181	456	-60.3%	3530	5161	-31.6%
---	---	---	---	---	---	---
Total	34,918	35,932	-2.8%	355,148	326,154	8.9%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
* indicates a vehicle which is also shown in another GCBC segment breakdown
GCBC isn't here to break down segments, an impossible task for any group, but to display sales data for the sake of comparison. The more ways sales data can be displayed, the better. This explains you'll see the XC70 listed with luxury cars as well as with SUVs and crossovers and the Touareg with luxury SUVs and mainstream SUVs... because readers have wanted it both ways. You can always find the sales results for EVERY vehicle and form your own competitive sets by using the All Vehicle Rankings posts.

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Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In America - September 2015 YTD
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Small & Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In America - September 2013 YTD
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Large Luxury SUV Sales In America - September 2014 YTD