Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - August 2016

The Lexus RX flew high and above all other premium brand contenders in August 2016, producing a 1% gain in an industry which declined whilst its three top-selling premium brand rivals posted declines.

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U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - August 2016 YTD

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The Lexus NX, meanwhile, was the second-best-selling premium brand utility vehicle in August. There were three Lexus products in the top five, including the Lexus ES sedan, during a month in which Lexus was America's top-selling luxury auto brand. 

Among vehicles with price tags above $50,000, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class was August's leader thanks to a 15% year-over-year U.S. sales uptick. Nine of the top 15 best-selling $50K+ vehicles were utility vehicles, from the BMW X5 to the Land Rover Range Rover. 

Six in ten Range Rovers sold in August were top-spec supercharged V8s.

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. Mobile users can now thumb across the tables for full-width access.

September 2016 • July 2016 • August 2015

Rank	Premium Brand Vehicle	August 2016	August 2015	% Change	2016 YTD	2015 YTD	% Change
#1	Lexus RX	9,701	9,620	0.8%	67,635	62,163	8.8%
#2	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	6,125	7,154	-14.4%	49,734	56,875	-12.6%
#3	BMW 3-Series	5,885	10,163	-42.1%	45,660	60,688	-24.8%
#4	Lexus ES	5,840	7,286	-19.8%	39,230	41,767	-6.1%
#5	Lexus NX	5,407	4,448	21.6%	33,386	28,834	15.8%
#6	Acura MDX	5,131	4,747	8.1%	34,648	39,144	-11.5%
#7	Cadillac XT5	4,929	---	---	17,088	---	---
#8	Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class & GLK-Class	4,715	2,168	117%	31,517	18,321	72.0%
#9	BMW X3	4,668	2,127	119%	27,174	17,750	53.1%
#10	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	4,623	4,006	15.4%	29,326	31,152	-5.9%
#11	Audi Q5	4,419	5,051	-12.5%	31,238	31,417	-0.6%
#12	Acura RDX	4,207	4,364	-3.6%	34,803	34,654	0.4%
#13	BMW X5	4,121	2,803	47.0%	29,069	37,965	-23.4%
#14	Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class & M-Class	3,756	4,481	-16.2%	33,354	31,292	6.6%
#15	Infiniti Q50	3,745	3,839	-2.4%	26,804	28,046	-4.4%

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 $50K	August 2016	August 2015	% Change	2016 YTD	2015 YTD	% Change
#1	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	4,623	4,006	15.4%	29,326	31,152	-5.9%
#2	BMW X5	4,121	2,803	47.0%	29,069	37,965	-23.4%
#3	Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class & M-Class	3,756	4,481	-16.2%	33,354	31,292	6.6%
#4	GMC Yukon XL	3,478	2,175	59.9%	20,613	17,912	15.1%
#5	Chevrolet Corvette	3,063	2,725	12.4%	19,890	23,826	-16.5%
#6	Cadillac Escalade	3,037	3,080	-1.4%	22,937	22,321	2.8%
	Cadillac Escalade *	1,867	1,770	5.5%	14,034	13,349	5.1%
	Cadillac Escalade ESV *	1,170	1,310	-10.7%	8,903	8,972	-0.8%
#7	Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class & GL-Class	2,912	2,188	33.1%	18,462	16,881	9.4%
#8	BMW 5-Series	2,606	4,012	-35.0%	26,184	29,779	-12.1%
#9	Lexus GX460	2,493	2,221	12.2%	15,561	16,249	-4.2%
#10	Audi Q7	2,347	2,016	16.4%	19,410	12,480	55.5%
#11	Mercedes-Benz S-Class	1,698	2,045	-17.0%	11,974	14,040	-14.7%
#12	Land Rover Range Rover Sport	1,667	1,387	20.2%	13,813	13,898	-0.6%
#13	Infiniti QX80	1,261	1,086	16.1%	10,592	9,488	11.6%
#14	Cadillac CT6	1,242	---	---	4,048	---	---
#15	Land Rover Range Rover	1,236	1,058	16.8%	10,519	11,224	-6.3%

Source: Automakers & ANDC
$50,000 USD (before delivery) is an arbitrary borderline, upgraded in 2016 from $45K last year by $5K, but if GCBC was to follow this system of designating only expensive vehicles as luxury vehicles, adding approximately $20,000 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 $50,000 - 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 below that borderline.
* Escalade breakdown by variant

RECOMMENDED READING
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - September 2016
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - July 2016
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - August 2015
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - August 2016
Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - August 2016
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - August 2016