The limousine and upper class segment is the only car (non-crossover) segment to improve in the first half of 2022 at +5% in an overall market down 15%. Still, it remains a very small class with just 0.3% of total European car sales. In the second quarter, upper class sales were up 9% in a market down 24%.
Mercedes-Benz continues to dominate the class with its two sedans, taking 47.6% share of the segment, up from 34.8% last year. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class remains on top despite a 13% decline in deliveries, while the Mercedes-Benz EQS is firmly in second place. In the second quarter, the Porsche Panamera was the #3 seller, but it’s still behind the BMW 7-Series year-to-date. Worst performing nameplate in the class is the BMW 8-Series with sales down 39%. It almost lost half of its sales in the second quarter of the year. The Audi A8 is down 2% and completes the top-6 with a comfortable distance to the rest of the class. Best of the rest and the second best performing nameplate in the segment with sales up 65%, while the Rolls Royce Ghost is up 36%. The Ghost was outsold in the second quarter by the Lexus LS which leapfrogs the Maserati Quattroporte, despite the Italians relatively good performance so far this year at +37%. The all-new Rolls Royce Phantom is the best performer with sales more than doubling on last year.
| Upper class | 2022-H1 | 2021-H1 | Change | 2022 share | 2022-Q2 | Change | |
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz S-Class | 5.305 | 6.088 | -13% | 28,9% | 2.702 | 8% |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz EQS | 3.434 | 0 | New | 18,7% | 1.851 | New |
| 3 | BMW 7-series | 2.650 | 2.866 | -8% | 14,4% | 1.397 | -15% |
| 4 | Porsche Panamera | 2.382 | 2.703 | -12% | 13,0% | 1.430 | -1% |
| 5 | BMW 8-series | 2.275 | 3.715 | -39% | 12,4% | 1.062 | -48% |
| 6 | Audi A8 / S8 | 1.641 | 1.674 | -2% | 8,9% | 585 | -28% |
| 7 | Bentley Flying Spur | 369 | 224 | 65% | 2,0% | 254 | 83% |
| 8 | Rolls Royce Ghost | 117 | 86 | 36% | 0,6% | 49 | 40% |
| 9 | Lexus LS | 67 | 58 | 16% | 0,4% | 53 | 83% |
| 10 | Maserati Quattroporte | 63 | 46 | 37% | 0,3% | 35 | 59% |
| 11 | Rolls Royce Phantom | 47 | 19 | 147% | 0,3% | 21 | 133% |
| 12 | Bentley Mulsanne | 0 | 17 | -100% | 0,0% | 0 | -100% |
| 13 | Jaguar XJ | 0 | 7 | -100% | 0,0% | 0 | -100% |
| Segment total | 18.350 | 17.503 | 5% | 9.439 | 9% |
Car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.