The large sedan segment is down 5% in the first three months of 2021, in an overall mrket up 13% as large sedans now make up just 1.5% of the US car market, down from 1.8% in the same period of 2020 and a new record low. In Q3, the large car segment was down by a third and held just 1.3% of the market.
For a change, luxury models lose share of the class as they’re down 14% and they now hold 40.4% of the large cars segment, down 4.5 percentage points on last year.
The Dodge Charger is up 15% to improve its share of the class to 34.7% thanks to a 42.3% share in Q3. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class drops from its #2 spot into third place as it was in only 7th in the third quarter. That allows the BMW 5-Series to move into second place overall, but both were outsold by the Toyota Avalon in the third quarter. The Avalon moves into fourth place ahead of the Chrysler 300, which is surprisingly the best performing model in the top-8 at +27%. The Nissan Maxima is down 10% on last year, while the Audi A6 is up 7% but was only the 9th best seller overall in the third quarter. Biggest loser in the top-10 is the Tesla Model S at an estimated -42%, while the best performing model is the Genesis G80, up 77%. The Audi A7 in 11th place and the Jaguar XF in 14th place are the only remaining nameplates to improve on last year, while the rest of the class show declines of 55% or more.
US large car sales 2021 – Q1-Q3
| Large car segment | 2021 – Q1-Q3 | 2020 – Q1-Q3 | Change | 2021 Share | 2020 Share | |
| 1 | Dodge Charger | 61.498 | 53.631 | 15% | 34,7% | 28,9% |
| 2 | BMW 5-series | 18.538 | 15.698 | 18% | 10,5% | 8,4% |
| 3 | Mercedes-Benz E-class | 17.634 | 19.187 | -8% | 9,9% | 10,3% |
| 4 | Toyota Avalon | 15.967 | 12.971 | 23% | 9,0% | 7,0% |
| 5 | Chrysler 300 | 14.631 | 11.553 | 27% | 8,2% | 6,2% |
| 6 | Nissan Maxima | 12.593 | 14.055 | -10% | 7,1% | 7,6% |
| 7 | Audi A6 / S6 | 8.595 | 8.035 | 7% | 4,8% | 4,3% |
| 8 | Tesla Model S (est.) |
7.855 | 13.600 | -42% | 4,4% | 7,3% |
| 9 | Cadillac CT5 | 7.636 | 9.576 | -20% | 4,3% | 5,2% |
| 10 | Genesis G80 | 4.597 | 2.602 | 77% | 2,6% | 1,4% |
| 11 | Audi A7 / S7 | 2.770 | 1.993 | 39% | 1,6% | 1,1% |
| 12 | Lincoln Continental | 1.395 | 3.872 | -64% | 0,8% | 2,1% |
| 13 | Volvo 90 series | 1.183 | 2.612 | -55% | 0,7% | 1,4% |
| 14 | Jaguar XF | 794 | 549 | 45% | 0,4% | 0,3% |
| 15 | Chevrolet Impala | 741 | 8.914 | -92% | 0,4% | 4,8% |
| 16 | Kia Cadenza | 249 | 922 | -73% | 0,1% | 0,5% |
| 17 | Acura RLX | 209 | 775 | -73% | 0,1% | 0,4% |
| 18 | Cadillac XTS | 171 | 979 | -83% | 0,1% | 0,5% |
| 19 | Cadillac CTS | 162 | 476 | -66% | 0,1% | 0,3% |
| 20 | Lexus GS | 75 | 2.164 | -97% | 0,0% | 1,2% |
| 21 | BMW 6-series | 53 | 145 | -63% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| 22 | Buick LaCrosse | 19 | 216 | -91% | 0,0% | 0,1% |
| Segment total | 177.365 | 185.866 | -5% |
Source: Manufacturers.