Sales of midsized luxury cars in Europe continue their downward trend in the first quarter of 2019, with deliveries down 3% to just over 160.000 units. And if it hadn’t been for the thunderous arrival of the Tesla Model 3, the segment would have been down by 14%. In March alone, Tesla delivered more Model 3’s than any midsized namplate except for the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and that also includes all mainstream midsized models like the VW Passat. However, this is not reflective of the long-term potential of the Model 3, as these figures reflect deliveries of cars ordered over the past few years. Tesla registrations will continue to fluctuate greatly over the course of the year as customer deliveries are dependent on the arrival of the ships that deliver the cars to Europe. The American EV brand may make some headlines as it may seem to outperform its European rivals, and the huge amount of pre-ordered vehicles is by all means an impressive feat, but in our analysis of the registration figures, we’ll always try to compare apples to apples. For the first quarter, the C-Class is still in command despite a 6% drop in sales, as its closest rival Audi A4 loses almost a quarter of its volume, as well as 4,6 percentage points of share, as some gasoline models still haven’t been available due to the WLTP standards introduced last September. Taht allows the BMW 3-series to close the gap to the #2 spot, despite seeing its sales slide 8% as the new generation is just arriving in showrooms. With Audi’s availability issues apparently solved (sales were down “just” 7,5% in March), an upcoming facelift for the A4 and BMW’s new 3-Series picking up steam, the battle on the podium will be intense for the rest of the year, especially with the wild card Model 3 that could crash the party as well.
European sales 2018 Premium Midsized segment
The midsized premium car segment in Europe shrinks for the second consecutive year in 2019, and does so by 16% to fewer than 600.000 sales or 3,8% of the overall market. That is a comparable trend to the non-luxury midsized segment, which is down 17% for the year. All top-5 players lose sales volume by 15% or more, with just the segment leader doing less terrible than the average of the class. That means the Mercedes-Benz C-Class consolidates its top spot and now has a 25,9% share, while the Audi A4 falls below 20% share. The A4 was hit especially hard in the last four months of the year, after the WLTP fuel efficiency testing standards kicked in and the brand had to stop sales of a number of popular versions of the A4, among others. Until August, A4 sales were stable on 2017, but from September onwards, the model’s average monthly sales dropped to just 30% of the average in the eight months before. In those last four months, the A4 lost almost 30.000 sales on the year before, while the C-Class lost 5.000 sales in the same period and the BMW 3-series lost 7.000 sales. With a new 3-Series in showrooms this year and Audi’s continued struggles to get the A4 tested under the new rules, there’s a significant chance of a different podium in 2019.
US car sales analysis 2018 Q2 – Premium Mid-sized segment
Tesla Model 3 almost takes the top spot in second quarter sales as segment growth evaporates
Sales in the US Premium Mid-sized segment rose by 2.8% to 221,407 in the first half of 2018, as growth experienced by the segment in the first quarter of the year evaporated entirely in the second quarter, despite a huge surge in the (estimated) sales of Tesla Model 3. With the Model 3 and Kia Stinger sales growth still accelerating, and the new [Read more…]
US car sales analysis Q1 2018 – Premium Mid-sized segment
Segment bounces back, carried by strong performances of Tesla Model 3, Acura TLX and Audi A5
Sales in the US Premium Mid-sized segment rose by 6.1% to 105,382 in the first quarter of 2018, a recovery from the 3.1% sales decline the segment experienced in 2017. However, while new models like Kia Stinger and Audi A5 can still see decent sales growth, further growth in the segment may be limited as there is only one other major new
European sales 2017 Premium Midsized segment
Sales of premium midsized cars in Europe dip slightly in 2017 with a 2% decline to 694.000 sales, 4,5% of the overall car market, down from 4,7% in 2016. This is a much better performance than that of mainstream midsized cars which are down 13% but both continue to lose volume to crossovers. Segment leader Mercedes-Benz C-Class consolidates its leadership with sales up less than 1% while its two closest rivals show double digit declines. Keep in mind that the C-Class is available in 4 versions: sedan, station wagon, coupe and convertible, while Audi and BMW split up sales of their traditional sedan and wagon versions from the more stylish counterparts. When combining all versions (as displayed in the graph), Audi takes the segment lead from BMW with over 207.000 sales (up from 206.000) vs nearly 194.000 sales (down from 212.000). Audi is boosted by the new generation A5 coupe, convertible and Sportback, up 41% on the outgoing model, although this may cannibalize sales of the regular A4, down 10%. However, that is not enough for the A5 to outsell its rival BMW 4-series, also available as a coupe, convertible and 4-door Gran Coupe. In the fourth quarter the 4-Series outsold the A5 again after the tables had been turned in Q2 and Q3. These 3 German brands now control 83,3% of the segment. However, as one of our readers pointed out a few weeks ago, Audi’s volume comes mostly from the entry-level engine specifications
US car sales analysis Q4 2017 – Premium Mid-sized segment
Segment declines slowly as Audi A5, Infiniti Q60 and Alfa Romeo Giulia shine
Sales in the US premium mid-sized segment fell by 7.9% to 116,607 in the fourth quarter of 2017, combining with the double-digit sales decline from Q3’17 to drag total sales in 2017 down by 3.1% to 446,534. Still, this made it the best (OK, least bad) performing from among non-SUV premium segments, thanks in large part to new metal hitting [Read more…]
European sales 2017 Q1-Q3 Premium Midsized segment
The premium midsized car segment in Europe accelerates its decline in Q3 of 2017 with a loss of 9%, bringing its year-to-date figure for the first nine months also in the red at -1%. Nearly 539.000 midsized luxury cars have been delivered by European dealers so far this year. slightly declined in the second quarter of 2017, which leads to a slim 2% increase in the first half, to 378.426 sales. With the mainstream midsized segment down by 11% in Q3, this type and of vehicle continues to lose volume to crossovers. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class increases its share of the segment to over 26% as its 5% loss in the third quarter is better than the segment average, while its closest 3 rivals all drop by double digits. The success of the new generation Audi A4 has been short-lived with sales down 21% in Q3 and down 13% year-to-date. The BMW 3-series loses 14% in the third quarter but a new generation will arrive next year. Its coupe and convertible versions under the 4-series monicker are also down by 11% in the third quarter, when they were outsold by their Audi rivals A5, up 50% thanks to the new generation. The gap between those models has been narrowed to less than 3.000 sales and the A5 is fresh and has the momentum, so it may become a tight race for the segment #4 spot by the end of the year, although I think the 4-Series will prevail. One sidenote to the figures of the C-Class: they include sales of the coupe and convertible versions, which BMW and Audi sell under separate nameplates. When looking at combined figures, Audi consolidates its segment lead with 160.344 sales (-2%), ahead of BMW with 151.800 sales (-7,1%) and Mercedes-Benz with 141.488 sales (+5%). In Q3 BMW was in third place just behind Mercedes-Benz. [Read more…]
US sales Q3 2017: Premium Mid-sized segment
The segment dips into the red but still outperforms other premium car segments
Sales of Premium Mid-sized cars fell by 9% in the third quarter of the year, down to 316,919, erasing the sales gains recorded over the first half of the year. Still, the segment is still the best performing from among all premium car segments, with all the other ones losing more sales since the beginning of the year. A big reason for is that over the past year a lot of new metal has hit the market (Audi A5, Infiniti Q60, Alfa Romeo Giulia), while a few other models are still fresh and growing strong (Audi A4, Jaguar XE). With the new BMW 3-Series around the corner, and a new Lexus IS and Volvo S60 not far off, the prospects are pretty good for this segment, despite the onslaught from premium SUVs.
European sales 2017 first half Premium Midsized segment
Sales of premium midsized cars in Europe slightly declined in the second quarter of 2017, which leads to a slim 2% increase in the first half, to 378.426 sales. Of course that handily beats the 16% loss for the mainstream midsized segment, which is now almost 100.000 sales behind its luxury version. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class increases its share of the segment to over 25% thanks to a 5% increase in Q2, and it remains unchallenged by either of its two rivals Audi A4 and BMW 3-series, which both lose volume. The A4 is actually in serious trouble with a 22% loss in Q2 and not all of these losses can be attributed to the new generation Audi A5, as that model may be up 51% in the second quarter but in absolute terms Audi is still down 4.400 sales. One sidenote to the figures of the C-Class: they include sales of the coupe and convertible versions, which BMW and Audi sell under separate nameplates. When looking at combined figures, Audi takes the semgent lead with 110.822 sales, just ahead of BMW with 108.303 sales. [Read more…]
US sales 2017 first half: Premium Mid-sized segment
Segment stabilizes decline, helped by coupe models as sedan sales continue to sink
Sales of Premium Mid-sized cars increased 3% in the second quarter of 2017, which makes it the best performing premium car segment and beats the overall market. For the first half of the year, sales are up 1% to 235,759 units. That’s a significant improvement from the loss of 15.3% percent in 2016, and much better than the -16% of the mainstream midsized car segment, although that segment remains 4 times as large in the US. However, the premium midsized crossover segment increased 11% to almost 214.000 sales and is closing in. If in the first quarter 8 of the 16 remaining models in the segment showed double digit declines, in Q2 there were only 5 double-digit losers and 2 single-digit losers, while the remaining 9 models improved. One sidenote to the ranking: the Mercedes-Benz C-class is the only model in the segment for which sales of the coupe and convertible are included with those of the sedan/station wagon, as all others have distinctive names for their sexier models: 3-Series/4-Series, A4/A5, Q50/Q60, IS/RC. That’s why we’ve decided to give you 2 rankings this time: the blue graph with the split figures and the green graph with the combined figures. As you can see, that makes the difference between having a Mercedes-Benz or a BMW on top.