Segment bounces back after years of decline on the back of BMW 8-series sales
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Sales in the US Large Sports and Exotics segment rose by 7.8% to 21,983 in the first half of 2019, a strong rebound that may put an end to the decline the segment has been experiencing since 2014, including last year when sales fell by almost 20%. With the all-new Chevrolet Corvette looming large on the horizon the future of the segment depends to a large extent on how the revolutionary (for the brand) mid-engined layout is received by bread-and-butter American customers.
Clicking on the model name opens the sales data page for that model; clicking year in the legend turns the display for that year on/off
Highlights:
- No big changes at the very front, with the outgoing generation Chevrolet Corvette and the new Porsche 911 seeing their sales fall ever-so-slightly – a strong performance for the former
- Behind the two stalwarts were two models not previously in the Top 5 – the facelifted Mercedes-AMG GT, whose sales more than doubled on this time last year, and the new BMW 8-series, which has been a pretty big hit with american customers, allowing it to handily outsell its (admittedly aging) Mercedes-Benz SL rival
- After seeing its sales almost halve in 2018 the Jaguar F-Type held onto its sales figures in 2019
- This is more than can be said for the Lexus LC, which after a strong start saw its sales fall by a third compared to this time last year, putting it behind the somewhat re-invigorated BMW i8 (which nonetheless is on its way to sell only a bit more than half the number it sold in 2015, its first full year on the market)
- Further back the facelifts could not stop sales of Audi R8 and Nissan GT-R from sliding, putting them within striking distance of the Acura NSX and the still-expanding Ford GT
Note: clicking on the model names in legend turns the display for that model on/off; data is displayed from 1990 onwards, but starts earlier – access previous years using slider on bottom