Luxury Car Buyers Moving Away from German Brands
Strong sales by Volvo and Jaguar are giving the luxury market in the U.S. a new look and challenging for the first time in a decade the dominance of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.
Mercedes-Benz is the top luxury brand in the U.S. and it increased its sales by 7% during July as the industry seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales topped 17.88 million units, the best number so far this year. But both BMW and Lexus saw their sales decline. BMW sales dropped 4% and Lexus sales dropped 6.5%.
Volvo and Jaguar sales jumped dramatically in July and both brands are winning converts this year and moving up on other brands that appeal to affluent luxury buyers, such as Infiniti and Acura. During July, JLR sold only about 500 fewer vehicles than Infiniti, according to the latest sales reports.
“We are very pleased to have both Jaguar and Land Rover being among the fastest growing brands in the U.S. automotive industry,” said Joe Eberhardt, president and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, North America, LLC.
“We now have the expanded Jaguar line-up in showrooms, and the XE and F-Pace are continuing to bring new customers to the brand. The Land Rover brand established a new record for July sales in the U.S. supported by the continued growth of its newest model, Discovery Sport,” he said.
Jaguar sales were 3,398 units, a 174% increase from 1,242 units in July 2015; Land Rover sales reached 6,075 units, up 21% from record sales of 5,011 units in July 2015; Jaguar Land Rover July U.S. sales for both brands hit 9,473 units, a 51% increase from 6,253 units in July 2015 and the best July sales month ever.
Volvo Car USA, LLC, reported U.S. sales of 8,584 vehicles, a 52.8% increase versus July 2015 and marking the 13th consecutive month the company posted double digit sales growth. Year-to-date sales are up 29.3% year-over-year. – DetroitB
