The upper class segment is the best performing class in the US in the first half of 2022, with sales up 80% in an overall market down 18%. With 20,775 deliveries, it remains one of the smallest segments at 0.3% share. This is a clear result of automakers prioritizing production of high-margin products in supply constrained circumstances, but also the introduction of new electrified models and the launch of a new generation of the class leader.
The traditional leader Mercedes-Benz S-Class is up more than sixfold thanks to the new generation and improves its share of the class to 42.1%. In the second quarter, the S-Class is up more than tenfold but that’s mostly due to a very low base last year when it was in a model changeover. In second place we find its all-electric sibling Mercedes-Benz EQS with over 4,000 deliveries, which gives Mercedes-Benz a dominant 61.5% share of the class. The BMW 7-Series is down 26% just when it’s due for a facelift and the introduction of its own EV rival BMW i7. As a result, the 7-Series was down 30% in Q2. The Porsche Panamera is a distant fourth with sales up 11%, moving ahead of the Lexus LS, down 45%. The Audi A8 is down 42% and falls behind the all-new, all-electric Lucid Air, which had an estimated 500 deliveries in Q2. Both these move ahead of the Genesis G90 in the second quarter when the South-Korean model was down by two thirds on last year. The G90 is down by a third so far this year. Doing even worse in Q2 was the Cadillac CT6 with just 22 deliveries.
The Cadillac CT6, Kia K900 and Jaguar XJ have reached the end of their life cycles.
US upper class sedan sales 2022-H1
| Upper class | 2022-H1 | 2021-H1 | Change | 2022 Share | 2021 Share | 2022-Q2 | Change | |
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz S-class | 8.737 | 1.416 | 517% | 42,1% | 12,3% | 3.920 | 951% |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz EQS | 4.050 | 0 | New | 19,5% | 0,0% | 1.959 | New |
| 3 | BMW 7-series | 2.889 | 3.915 | -26% | 13,9% | 34,0% | 1.391 | -30% |
| 4 | Porsche Panamera | 1.913 | 1.716 | 11% | 9,2% | 14,9% | 1.126 | -11% |
| 5 | Lexus LS | 1.248 | 2.251 | -45% | 6,0% | 19,5% | 659 | -41% |
| 6 | Lucid Air (est.) | 690 | 0 | New | 3,3% | 0,0% | 500 | New |
| 7 | Audi A8 / S8 | 641 | 1.113 | -42% | 3,1% | 9,7% | 407 | -39% |
| 8 | Genesis G90 | 580 | 862 | -33% | 2,8% | 7,5% | 151 | -66% |
| 9 | Cadillac CT6 | 22 | 171 | -87% | 0,1% | 1,5% | 22 | -79% |
| 10 | Jaguar XJ | 5 | 14 | -64% | 0,0% | 0,1% | 0 | -100% |
| 11 | Kia K900 | 0 | 70 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,6% | 0 | -100% |
| Segment total | 20.775 | 11.528 | 80% | 10.135 | 69% |
Source: Manufacturers.