Sales in the premium large segment fell by 11% compared to 2014, a pretty bad, but maybe not unexpected performance given that most cars in this segment are either getting long in the tooth, or are on the verge of being replaced with new models. With the new Mercedes-Benz E class, Volvo S90 and Jaguar XF about to go on sale in the first months of 2016 it is reasonable to expect the segment’s fortunes to pick up soon. [Read more…]
US sales 2015 first half Premium Large segment
The US Large Premium segment shrank by 13% year-on-year, the largest decline from among the Premium segments and the third largest from among the 25 segments we keep track of. Part of the reason may be that the segment leaders are aging, but overall there may be a shift away from the segment towards the smaller but ever-so-capable Premium Mid-sized offerings. It will be interesting to see how much the market will recover once the new BMW 5-series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class hit the market.
For now, the market leader remains the Lexus ES, going strong in its fourth year on the market. For the European readers among you – not sure what the ES is? It is basically the last mainstream car that Lexus targets unashamedly at older customers, with its comfy suspension setting, homely FWD underpinnings from the Toyota Avalon and the softest version of its divisive design language. Even though Lexus may be chasing BMWs these days the ES remains popular with its target audience – while it lost 12% of sales in doing so it actually retained its share of the segment, and there is a facelift arriving in the second half of 2015.