In 2021 European sales of limousines and upper class vehicles were up 10%, beating the overall market which was down 2%. Even in Q4 when the entire market dropped by 24%, upper class vehicles sales were up 2%. As a result, their share improves to 0.3% of the total European car market, from 0.2% in 2020.
Mercedes-Benz reclaims control of the class with the launch of its new generation S-Class, which is up 77% on last year but still well below its average of over 15,000 annual sales between 2014 and 2018. Its share jumps back to 34.5% of the segment, nearly the same as BMW with its two nameplates. The #1 and #2 of 2020, BMW 8-Series and 7-Series hold a combined 34.6% of the class in the first half of 2021. But Mercedes-Benz also has a second nameplate in the class now with the EQS full-electric sedan. This lands at #6 with its first 1,000 deliveries, giving the brand a 37.7% share of the class. The Porsche Panamera is up 18% to hold on to 4th place, selling more than double of its next rival Audi A8, down 21%. The Bentley Flying Spur is up 3% in 7th place while the new generation Rolls Royce Ghost manages to double its sales to make this its best year since 2015. Still, this is just over half of its peak annual sales in 2010. The Lexus LS improves 19% to outsell the Maserati Quattroporte, the Rolls Royce Phantom is down 11% while the Bentley Mulsanne will be discontinued. The latter still outsells newcomer Genesis G90.
| Upper class | 2021 | 2020 | Change | 2021 share | 2020 share | 2021-Q4 | 2020-Q4 | Change | |
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz S-Class | 11.069 | 6.239 | 77% | 34,5% | 21,4% | 2.354 | 1.480 | 59% |
| 2 | BMW 8-series | 5.873 | 7.486 | -22% | 18,3% | 25,7% | 879 | 1.397 | -37% |
| 3 | BMW 7-series | 5.235 | 6.346 | -18% | 16,3% | 21,8% | 1.183 | 1.629 | -27% |
| 4 | Porsche Panamera | 5.097 | 4.308 | 18% | 15,9% | 14,8% | 1.249 | 1.333 | -6% |
| 5 | Audi A8 / S8 | 2.865 | 3.648 | -21% | 8,9% | 12,5% | 398 | 905 | -56% |
| 6 | Mercedes-Benz EQS | 1.027 | 0 | New | 3,2% | 0,0% | 901 | 0 | New |
| 7 | Bentley Flying Spur | 451 | 438 | 3% | 1,4% | 1,5% | 101 | 171 | -41% |
| 8 | Rolls Royce Ghost | 186 | 89 | 109% | 0,6% | 0,3% | 41 | 19 | 116% |
| 9 | Lexus LS | 117 | 98 | 19% | 0,4% | 0,3% | 17 | 23 | -26% |
| 10 | Maserati Quattroporte | 115 | 116 | -1% | 0,4% | 0,4% | 27 | 41 | -34% |
| 11 | Rolls Royce Phantom | 41 | 46 | -11% | 0,1% | 0,2% | 9 | 12 | -25% |
| 12 | Bentley Mulsanne | 19 | 69 | -72% | 0,1% | 0,2% | 1 | 13 | -92% |
| 13 | Genesis G90 | 16 | 0 | New | 0,0% | 0,0% | 0 | 0 | New |
| 14 | Jaguar XJ | 11 | 247 | -96% | 0,0% | 0,8% | 3 | 26 | -88% |
| Segment total | 32.122 | 29.164 | 10% | 7.163 | 7.049 | 2% |
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.