The large sedan segment is down 15% in 2021, in an overall market up 3% as large sedans now make up just 1.5% of the US car market, down from 1.8% in 2020 and a new record low. 2021’s fewer than 222,000 deliveries translate to less than a third of the segment volume in 2016. In Q4, the large car segment was down by 41% in an overall market down 21%.
For a change, luxury models lose share of the class as they’re down 24% and they now hold 40.5% of the large cars segment, down 5.1 percentage points on 2020.
The Dodge Charger is up 1% to improve its share of the class to 35.3% despite a 29% drop in deliveries in Q4. Its closest rivals fall behind with an 8% drop in deliveries for the BMW 5-Series and an 18% decline for the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (combined with the CLS), as both see their deliveries almost halved in the fourth quarter. The Toyota Avalon outsold the E-Class in Q4 and is up 6% for the year, distancing the Chrysler 300 which sees stable sales in 2021 despite a 60% decline in the final quarter. That allows the 300 to move ahead of the Nissan Maxima which is down 9%, even though the Maxima was the #3 seller in Q4. The Tesla Model S (-38%) stays ahead of the Audi A6 (-9%) which passes the Cadillac CT5 (-36%). The Genesis G80 is the best performing nameplate in the class at +80%, passing the Lincoln Continental (-72%) and Chevrolet Impala (-92%) which have been or will be discontinued. The Audi A7 is up 8% to move ahead of the Volvo 90-Series (-54%).
US large car sales 2021
| Large car segment | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 Share | 2020 Share | 2021-Q4 | 2020-Q4 | Change | |
| 1 | Dodge Charger | 78.389 | 77.425 | 1% | 35,3% | 29,7% | 16.891 | 23.794 | -29% |
| 2 | BMW 5-series | 24.523 | 26.785 | -8% | 11,1% | 10,3% | 5.985 | 11.087 | -46% |
| 3 | Mercedes-Benz E-class / CLS | 20.947 | 25.499 | -18% | 9,4% | 9,8% | 3.313 | 6.312 | -48% |
| 4 | Toyota Avalon | 19.460 | 18.421 | 6% | 8,8% | 7,1% | 3.493 | 5.450 | -36% |
| 5 | Chrysler 300 | 16.662 | 16.653 | 0% | 7,5% | 6,4% | 2.031 | 5.100 | -60% |
| 6 | Nissan Maxima | 16.386 | 18.062 | -9% | 7,4% | 6,9% | 3.793 | 4.007 | -5% |
| 7 | Tesla Model S | 11.555 | 18.600 | -38% | 5,2% | 7,1% | 3.700 | 5.000 | -26% |
| 8 | Audi A6 / S6 | 9.544 | 10.535 | -9% | 4,3% | 4,0% | 949 | 2.500 | -62% |
| 9 | Cadillac CT5 | 9.446 | 14.711 | -36% | 4,3% | 5,6% | 1.810 | 5.135 | -65% |
| 10 | Genesis G80 | 6.031 | 3.359 | 80% | 2,7% | 1,3% | 1.434 | 757 | 89% |
| 11 | Audi A7 / S7 | 3.081 | 2.859 | 8% | 1,4% | 1,1% | 311 | 866 | -64% |
| 12 | Volvo 90 series | 1.485 | 3.194 | -54% | 0,7% | 1,2% | 302 | 582 | -48% |
| 13 | Lincoln Continental | 1.460 | 5.262 | -72% | 0,7% | 2,0% | 65 | 1.390 | -95% |
| 14 | Jaguar XF | 1.194 | 749 | 59% | 0,5% | 0,3% | 400 | 200 | 100% |
| 15 | Chevrolet Impala | 750 | 9.942 | -92% | 0,3% | 3,8% | 9 | 1.028 | -99% |
| 16 | Kia Cadenza | 249 | 1.265 | -80% | 0,1% | 0,5% | 0 | 343 | -100% |
| 17 | Acura RLX | 214 | 1.054 | -80% | 0,1% | 0,4% | 5 | 279 | -98% |
| 18 | Cadillac XTS | 171 | 1.199 | -86% | 0,1% | 0,5% | 0 | 220 | -100% |
| 19 | Cadillac CTS | 162 | 611 | -73% | 0,1% | 0,2% | 0 | 135 | -100% |
| 20 | Lexus GS | 76 | 2.560 | -97% | 0,0% | 1,0% | 1 | 396 | -100% |
| 21 | BMW 6-series | 55 | 200 | -73% | 0,0% | 0,1% | 2 | 55 | -96% |
| 22 | Buick LaCrosse | 19 | 230 | -92% | 0,0% | 0,1% | 0 | 14 | -100% |
| 23 | Infiniti Q70 | 0 | 139 | -100% | 0,0% | 0,1% | 0 | 4 | -100% |
| Segment total | 221.859 | 260.917 | -15% | 44.494 | 75.051 | -41% |
Source: Manufacturers.