Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - December 2015

As BMW USA transitions from MY2015 editions of the 3-Series to the refreshed 2016 model, the 3-Series – America's best-selling premium brand vehicle in 2015's first 11 months – was not the top-selling premium brand vehicle in America in December 2015.

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U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model: 2015 Year End

Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - 2015 Year End

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Nor was the 3-Series the second-ranked premium brand vehicle. Indeed, the BMW 3-Series didn't even rank in the top five. Sales plunged 61%, and the 3-Series ranked tenth among luxury autos; fourth among luxury cars; third among BMWs; second among BMW cars.

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This won't remain the case, of course. But in the month of December, the Lexus RX, despite a 13% year-over-year drop, led all premium brand vehicles in the United States. 

The Lexus ES was America's top-selling premium brand passenger car. Not surprisingly, the top-selling premium brand in America in December 2015 was Lexus, which trailed BMW by a scant 1422 units over the course of the 2015 calendar year.

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.

January 2016 • November 2015 • December 2014

Rank	Premium Brand Vehicle	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
#1	Lexus RX	11,899	13,625	-12.7%	100,610	107,490	-6.4%
#2	Lexus ES	7856	7782	1.0%	64,969	72,508	-10.4%
#3	Cadillac SRX	7031	4899	43.5%	68,850	53,578	27.5%
#4	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	7023	8224	-14.6%	86,080	75,065	14.7%
#5	Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class	6310	---	---	20,663	---	---
#6	Acura MDX	6254	6761	-7.5%	58,208	65,603	-11.3%
#7	BMW X5	6250	6098	2.5%	54,997	47,031	16.9%
#8	Audi Q5	6057	4551	33.1%	52,006	42,420	22.6%
#9	BMW 4-Series	5601	5859	-4.4%	46,082	41,442	11.2%
#10	BMW 3-Series	5262	13,339	-60.6%	94,527	100,970	-6.2%
#11	Lexus NX	5134	2905	76.7%	43,764	2927	1395%
#12	Lexus IS	5028	5939	-15.3%	46,430	51,358	-9.6%
#13	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	4999	5119	-2.3%	49,736	66,401	-25.1%
#14	Infiniti QX60	4987	3367	48.1%	41,770	31,192	33.9%
#15	Acura RDX	4942	5156	-4.2%	51,026	44,865	13.7%

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	December 2015	December 2014	% Change	2015	2014	% Change
#1	Chevrolet Tahoe	9773	11,259	-13.2%	88,342	97,726	-9.6%
#2	Chevrolet Suburban	6350	6761	-6.1%	50,866	55,009	-7.5%
#3	Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class	6310	---	---	20,663	---	---
#4	BMW X5	6250	6098	2.5%	54,997	47,031	16.9%
#5	GMC Yukon	5271	4729	11.5%	42,732	41,569	2.8%
#6	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	4999	5119	-2.3%	49,736	66,401	-25.1%
#7	Cadillac Escalade	4659	3740	24.6%	35,923	30,522	17.7%
	Cadillac Escalade ^	2743	2281	20.3%	21,230	19,482	9.0%
	Cadillac Escalade ESV ^	1916	1459	31.3%	14,691	10,987	33.7%
	Cadillac Escalade EXT ^	---	---	---	2	53	-96.2%
#8	GMC Yukon XL	4536	3260	39.1%	31,334	29,752	5.3%
#9	Ford Expedition	4056	4239	-4.3%	41,443	44,632	-7.1%
#10	Lexus GS	3423	2745	24.7%	23,117	22,198	4.1%
#11	Volvo XC90	3135	68	4510%	12,777	3952	223%
#12	Lexus GX460	3118	2707	15.2%	25,212	22,685	11.1%
#13	Cadillac XTS	3070	2276	34.9%	23,112	24,335	-5.0%
#14	BMW 5-Series	2985	5517	-45.9%	44,162	52,704	-16.2%
#15	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	2849	3394	-16.1%	27,707	26,598	4.2%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
$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. 
^ Escalade breakdown by variant

RECOMMENDED READING
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - January 2016
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - November 2015
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - December 2014

Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - December 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - December 2015
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - December 2015 & Year End

Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - December 2015