Chart Of The Day: Junior Luxury Sedans
TTAC Commenter Charles T writes in:
Any chance you could do $30-$40k entry-level luxury, ie BMW 3-series and everyone else gunning for a piece of that pie? For completeness sake, include cars that normally aren’t positioned against the 3-series despite being a similar price (Lexus ES and Lincoln MKZ, for example) just as a sense of their relative market sizes; I’d be curious to see how the sporty vs unsporty dichotomy plays out in the real world.
Well, Charles, there’s a reason you used the perennially-popular 3-Series to exemplify this segment. The model dominates sales of sport (and not) junior luxury sedans. And by a healthy margin no less, selling more than its Mercedes and Audi equivalents combined. This second tier is where things get interesting: The Infiniti G and Mercedes C-Class sold roughly equivalent volumes last month, and were closely shadowed by less-sporty competition in the form of the Lexus ES and Buick LaCrosse (which pipped the ES by a few hundred units, likely setting off a night or two of wild celebration among Buick’s staff). The third tier is where things get crazy, with Audi’s A4, Cadillac’s CTS, Lexus’ IS, Hyundai’s Genesis, VW’s Passat CC, Acura’s TL and Lincoln’s MKZ battling to break out of their 2k-3.5k monthly sales boxes.
Is there any sign amidst this data that Americans prefer sporty to floaty? Not so much. Here, perhaps more than anywhere else, brand appears to be king.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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I think BMW kicks their butts because of the sweet lease deals, the free maintenance, and the brand cachet. Most BMW drivers wouldn't know good handling from their own ass cheeks. (ask my wife...proud 328i pilot!). That said, they do drive like an absolute dream, are very reliable in the all-important warranty period, and get great fuel economy.
Who buys the Lincoln MKZ. That is just confusing. I am very surprised that they sell more than about 4,000 a year. I am also confused about the Lexus ES but I understand that the Lexus name is very good. I don't see Lincoln as a prestigious brand anymore.
Nothing like a little success to rile up the hate-gm crowd. I bet if the Lacrosse was rear wheel drive, 400hp, and had an interior taken directly out of a Rolls Royce it'd still not be luxury enough simply because the Buick badge. Get over it, and be happy your taxes have a (slim) chance at not totally being wasted.
Why all the surprise on the ES? It is Lexus top seller behind the RX. Those two combined make up more than 50% of Lexus sales (last time I checked). What people here need to realize is that not everyone is a performance enthusiast. Not everyone cares about which wheels drive the car. For most people who want a nicely sized luxury car, and want a Lexus, is makes the most sense. 3k more than an IS, and much bigger. 10k less than a GS and the ES gets better mileage. Now, for the average person buying a luxury car, 3k more for more space, and 10k less with better mileage is going to sell a lot of ES's.