After growing 11% in 2014 on the arrival of the new BMW X5, the Premium Large SUV segment is up another 6% in the first quarter of this year, and the growth is shared much more evenly, with 10 out of 17 nameplates in positive territory (up from 7 out of 17 last year) and another all-new BMW as the fastest growing model in the segment.
With sales up 3%, the X5 adds sales but loses market share in the segment. It does hold on to the lead, as its main rival the Range Rover Sport also adds just 3% to its volume. One of the losers in the segment is the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, which will be replaced by the GLE early next year. It is kicked off the segment podium by the Volkswagen Touareg, up 26%. Mercedes will first introduce a GLE Coupe this year to compete with BMW’s X6.
After losing 27% off its volume in 2014 and being outsold by the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Porsche Cayenne is back up by 28% in Q1 of this year. That means there’s no cannibalization from the smaller Macan, and perhaps the Cayenne benefits from the increased showroom traffic and the waiting list for the smaller SUV.
The ancient Land Rover Discovery is surprisingly up 34%, and this is not because of the Discovery Sport, this new and smaller model is placed in the Premium Compact SUV segment. The Disco now outsells the Range Rover again, despite an 11% improvement for the godfather of luxury SUVs.
The all-new BMW X6 is the fastest growing model in the segment, with sales up more than double on the previous generation last year. It kicks down the Grand Cherokee into #9 after the American SUV finished 2014 in an impressive 5th place.
Customer deliveries of the new generations Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90 haven’t yet started in the first quarter, but both models will start climbing the ranking soon. There’s already a 7 month waiting list for the XC90 Plug-in Hybrid, so Volvo will probably sell as many as they can build this year.
| Large Premium SUV segment |
Q1 2015 | Q1 2014 | Change | |
| 1. | BMW X5 | 9.262 | 8.959 | 3% |
| 2. | Range Rover Sport | 8.251 | 8.005 | 3% |
| 3. | Volkswagen Touareg | 5.393 | 4.281 | 26% |
| 4. | Mercedes-Benz M-Class | 5.204 | 5.530 | -6% |
| 5. | Porsche Cayenne | 4.721 | 3.693 | 28% |
| 6. | Land Rover Discovery | 4.410 | 3.289 | 34% |
| 7. | Range Rover | 4.023 | 3.635 | 11% |
| 8. | BMW X6 | 3.727 | 1.559 | 139% |
| 9. | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 3.278 | 3.607 | -9% |
| 10. | Audi Q7 | 2.544 | 3.009 | -15% |
| 11. | Lexus RX | 1.102 | 1.402 | -21% |
| 12. | Mercedes-Benz GL | 1.059 | 1.007 | 5% |
| 13. | Mercedes-Benz G-Class | 681 | 642 | 6% |
| 14. | Infiniti QX70 | 364 | 212 | 72% |
| 15. | Land Rover Defender | 263 | 383 | -31% |
| 16. | Volvo XC90 | 102 | 2.202 | -95% |
| 17. | Mercedes-Benz R-Class | 3 | 15 | -80% |
| Segment total | 54.387 | 51.430 | 6% |
Click on any model to see its annual sales from 1997-2013 and monthly sales in 2012, 2013 and 2014, or use the dropdown menu in the top right of this site. Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.