Sales in the premium limousine segment fell by 11% compared to Q1 2015, continuing the trend from 2015 when sales fell by 12% compared to the year prior. While sales of the new BMW 7-series are usefully up, there are still many models which are awaiting replacement and whose sales are suffering as a results: Porsche Panamera and Hyundai Equus will be replaced this year, but models such as Lexus LS, Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ, despite getting really long in the tooth, won’t be replaced till 2017 at the earliest. It will be interesting how much the new Cadillac CT6 will managed to sell in the coming quarters, too, as its sales barely begun in March 2016.
Highlights for Q1 2016
- Sales of the undisputed segment-leader, Mercedes-Benz S-class, continued falling at a double-digit pace, suggesting the extent of segment dominance it had enjoyed in recent years may be reduced a bit as new competitors hit the market
- BMW 7-series got off to a good start in 2016, with sales rising by 19%, the best performance in the segment
- Lexus LS recorded the worst performance in the segment, with sales shrinking by a third – not a good sign, as the replacement is at least a year away
- Jaguar XJ was the only other model to increase the number of sales, allowing it to jump over Audi A8 (sales down 8%) and Porsche Panamera (sales down 27%) to claim fourth spot in the market
- Hyundai Equus managed to only lose 4% of sales despite the new Genesis G90 having been unveiled in the fall, which bodes well for the success of the replacement model and Hyundai’s new luxury brand in general
- Cadillac CT6 went on sale in March 2016, but only gathered 35 sales – we’ll need to wait until later in the year to get a better measure of how well the model was received by the marketplace
Note: 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