Want More Interesting Audi USA November 2012 Sales Facts?

Over the lunch hour I tweeted that three American buyers got their hands on the now defunct (in North America) Audi A4 Avant. This started a bit of an exchange on Twitter with some fellow auto writers. But there are other, more interesting facts in Audi USA's monthly press release.

14% of all Audi A4 sales were S4 sedans. The S5 and RS5 accounted for 39% of A5/S5 volume. 12% of the A8s sold were actually S8s, and the TTS and TTRS accounted for 62% of all TT sales.

All 265 Vehicles Ranked By U.S. November 2012 YTD Sales
437 A4 Allroads were sold. That's up 92% from what Audi achieved with the A4 Avant in November of last year. 

November 2012 was the Audi Q5's second-best sales month ever. Only June was better.

45% of A3 sales were of the TDI variety. The diesel-powered Q7 brought in 29% of November 2012's Q7 buyers. 

Audi USA sold more vehicles in November 2012 than in any November in history. In fact, Audi has already sold more vehicles in 2012 than in any full calendar year in the company's U.S. history. It helps to have more models to sell. Quite clearly, this is no longer a company with a coupe and three sedans. And to think there are numerous Audis that the U.S. division doesn't sell.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Historic Monthly & Yearly Audi Brand Sales Figures
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - November 2012 & YTD
Historic Monthly & Yearly Volkswagen Group Sales Figures

October 2012 Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America

Volvo missed America's list of 30 top-selling premium vehicles by just 15 sales in October 2012. Two Volvos were present in this space as recently as August, but the XC60's 82% jump (to 1562 sales) wasn't strong enough, and the S60's 34% decline (to 1153 sales) was bad enough to keep Volvo away.

Cars like the Acura ILX, Lexus GS, Audi A5, Cadillac ATS, and Lexus CT200h all sold more often than the Volvo S60 in October 2012, yet none of those cars sold frequently enough to crack the top 30. The ATS certainly appears to have had an impact, regardless. CTS sales plunged 40% to just 2344. The XTS sold more often in October. Last month the CTS was America's 13th-best-selling luxury vehicle; in October it dropped to the 19th position.

Every Vehicle, All 265, Ranked By U.S. October YTD Sales

Total ATS and CTS sales didn't measure up to last October's CTS total, either, as the totals achieved by Cadillac's two entry-level cars were 7.9% down on the CTS's 3918-unit October 2011. And October 2011 CTS sales were down 7.6% from the prior October. All that said, the ATS is just getting going, having only been on sale since the latter part of September. Cars.com lists 5767 ATS sedans in Cadillac's U.S. inventory. That's nothing compared to CTS inventory: 9871 sedans, 4468 coupes, and 571 wagons.

At least the sharp declines recorded by the CTS and Escalade were covered up by the success of the XTS and fifth-ranked SRX, America's 18th-best-selling SUV in October. Cadillac sales rose 14.5% year-over-year. Lincoln was down 15.4% as only the low-volume Navigator and MKT posted gains.

There's much more to the October edition of this best-selling luxury vehicles post than Volvo's failings and Cadillac's fratricide. BMW 3-Series sales shot up 26% in October to 9729, good enough to land the top spot in this group and the 15th position in America's best-selling cars group. Direct 3-Series rivals can be spotted in second place, tenth place, and twelfth.

Audi Still Sells The Conventional Audi A4 Avant In
Other Markets. Its Base Price is £6550 Less Than The Allroad's
In The UK, Where Audi Is The Best-Selling Premium Brand

Audi just started separating the sales figures of its A4 sedan from the A4 Allroad. For consistency's sake we'll keep them together at least until the end of the year. But you can see that 13% of the A4s sold were Allroads, and you can see all A4 Allroad sales figures here. If you want an Audi wagon, the A4-on-stilts is now your only option. Ranked twelfth with the Allroad, the A4 drops to 15th without it. Audi USA's next-best-selling automobile in October was the 18th-ranked Q5, sales of which dipped 7% year-over-year. Rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz both sold more frequently. The X3 moved up from 15th spot last month to 11th in October.

Click Luxury Brand Market
Share Chart For Larger View

Removed from September's 30 best-selling luxury vehicles post were two products from Infiniti and Acura, the FX and ILX, respectively. Oh, how Japanese luxury automakers love to end a given name with the letter X. The BMW X1 and Porsche Cayenne stepped in to fill the void.

As will always be the case in the future, historic brand and corporate totals (monthly and yearly going back to 2002) are now available through the dropdown menu at GCBC's Sales Stats page, along with results for more than 260 currently sold vehicles. That's where you'll find out that Volvo sold 38,546 S60s in 2002.

After the jump, 30 premium vehicles are ranked by October 2012 U.S. sales volume. Get to know the year-to-date data, too. We're only two months away from year-end results.

Rank	Luxury Vehicle	October 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	BMW 3-Series	9729	+ 25.6%	78,081	- 0.3%
#2	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	7636	+ 7.8%	65,376	+ 22.9%
#3	Lexus RX	6928	+ 3.5%	73,976	+ 16.5%
#4	Lexus ES	5971	+ 38.9%	42,105	+ 34.7%
#5	Cadillac SRX	5521	+ 10.8%	45,745	+ 2.0%
#6	Mercedes-Benz E-Class	5265	+ 16.6%	50,061	- 4.4%
#7	BMW X5	4240	+ 6.1%	33,922	+ 12.9%
#8	BMW 5-Series	4228	- 16.2%	42,556	- 1.1%
#9	Acura MDX	3771	+ 2.2%	42,417	+ 19.9%
#10	Infiniti G	3438	- 10.1%	49,490	+ 4.8%
	G Sedan	2720	- 8.9%	38,486	+ 10.8%
	G Coupe/Convertible	718	- 14.3%	11,004	- 11.8%
#11	BMW X3	3248	+ 39.9%	25,839	+ 20.2%
#12	Audi A4	3151	+ 20.6%	31,381	+ 8.2%
	A4	2740	+ 4.9%	29,138	29,011
	Allroad	411	-----	2243	+ 0.4%
#13	Mercedes-Benz GLK	2943	+ 18.0%	23,084	+ 18.4%
#14	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	2868	- 29.9%	29,966	+ 16.5%
#15	Acura RDX	2659	+ 62.9%	22,460	+ 82.7%
#16	Acura TL	2560	- 3.8%	29,408	+ 15.1%
#17	Cadillac XTS	2540	-----	9696	-----
#18	Audi Q5	2424	- 7.1%	22,321	+ 10.6%
#19	Cadillac CTS	2344	- 40.2%	40,809	- 10.9%
#20	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class	2296	+ 7.9%	19,854	+ 2.7%
#21	Hyundai Genesis	2175	- 16.4%	29,191	+ 4.9%
#22	Lexus IS	2116	- 19.8%	23,223	- 0.6%
#23	Infiniti JX35	2084	-----	16,437	-----
#24	BMW X1	1907	-----	4053	-----
#25	Cadillac Escalade	1832	- 20.7%	18,269	- 8.6%
	Escalade	990	- 30.5%	10,284	- 13.7%
	Escalade ESV	668	- 7.5%	6463	- 0.4%
	Escalade EXT	174	+ 6.7%	1522	- 3.5%
#26	Porsche Cayenne	1697	+ 64.4%	12,031	+ 8.7%
#27	Audi A6	1620	+ 36.6%	15,529	+ 96.8%
#28	Lincoln MKZ	1614	- 17.4%	25,088	+ 9.0%
#29	Lincoln MKX	1602	- 9.2%	20,382	+ 8.8%
#30	Acura TSX	1577	- 47.0%	24,955	+ 1.0%
	TSX Sedan	1185	- 56.4%	21,519	- 2.2%
	TSX Wagon	392	+ 51.4%	3436	+ 27.7%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales 
GCBC qualifies all vehicles from Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Acura, Cadillac, Audi, Infiniti, Lincoln, Volvo, Land Rover, Porsche, and Jaguar while also making exceptions for overtly premium cars like the Chevrolet Corvette, Nissan GT-R, Volkswagen Touareg, Hyundai Equus, and (reluctantly) Hyundai Genesis. Buick's lack of anything truly high-end hinders its value-priced vehicles from qualifying as premium, despite the image Buick held in a previous era. Yes, this means the B-Class is eligible because of the S-Class; the A3 because of the R8, to an extent. Unfortunately the lack of data separating vehicle trim lines from one another (F-150 XL vs F-150 Platinum, for example) means vehicles like the GMC Yukon Denali and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 aren't included. None of this should lead you to believe the Chrysler 300 and Toyota Avalon and Buick Enclave aren't luxurious, particularly as they're viable competitors for true premium players. 

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - November 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - September 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In America - October 2011
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - October 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - October 2012

August 2012 Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The United Kingdom

In what was briefly a faltering UK auto market in August 2012, none of the five best-selling cars sold as frequently as they had a year earlier. Overall, the United Kingdom's new vehicle market grew, but only by 87 units, equal to a 0.15% gain. Through eight months the UK auto market grew 3.3% as, according to the SMMT, diesel sales risen 4.8%, petrol sales improved 1.5%, and private registrations jumped 10.6%.

At the leading edge of those gains have been two small car rivals from FoMoCo and General Motors. Ford Fiesta sales are up 14% in 2012; Vauxhall Corsa sales have risen 19%. Together they've accounted for 10% of all new vehicles sold in the United Kingdom in 2012. 

Booted off the best-selling cars list in August were the Vauxhall Insignia and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Taking their place were BMW's 1-Series and the sharply dressed Vauxhall Zafira, a vehicle which could certainly steal sales in the Mazda 5's tiny market if it ever goes on sale in the United States. The Zafira hasn't been in the top 10 since February of last year. 

The Nissan Qashqai fell from sixth spot to eighth as year-over-year sales slid 5.6%. The Audi A3 moved up from ninth to seventh as year-over-year sales improved 10.5%. Through eight months, however, Qashqai sales are up 15% and the Audi A3 is not among the ten best-sellers. 

Eight-month totals see the Fiesta leading the way, followed as it is in the August standings by the Corsa, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, and Vauxhall Astra. Then in sixth sits the Qashqai, followed by the Volkswagen Polo, BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and Vauxhall Insignia.

Why are we concentrating so much on year-to-date statistics? August is traditionally a low-volume auto sales month in the UK, as you may have deciphered when studying the numbers GoodCarBadCar published at the beginning of September 2011. Ford Fiesta sales at that point had dropped 52% from the month prior. If customs are followed, September sales will rise sharply. Last year Fiesta sales jumped from 3213 in August to 15,647 in September. SMMT's forecast says the overall new vehicle market in September will be 5.6 times the size of what it was in August 2012.

Rank	Best-Selling Car	August 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Ford Fiesta	2993	- 6.8%	70,096	+ 13.9%
#2	Vauxhall Corsa	2430	- 16.2%	55,386	+ 18.8%
#3	Ford Focus	2089	- 26.9%	50,684	- 4.2%
#4	Volkswagen Golf	1933	- 3.1%	40,872	+ 3.8%
#5	Vauxhall Astra	1567	- 2.9%	37,261	- 3.4%
#6	Volkswagen Polo	1484	+ 1.2%	26,696	- 4.8%
#7	Audi A3	1243	+ 10.5%	n/a	n/a
#8	Nissan Qashqai	1238	- 5.6%	28,394	+ 15.0%
#9	Vauxhall Zafira	1164	n/a	n/a	n/a
#10	BMW 1-Series	1136	n/a	n/a	n/a

Source: Manufacturers, MTI & SMMT
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The United Kingdom - September 2012
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - July 2012
UK Auto Sales By Brand - August 2012
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - August 2011
Top 20 Best-Selling Cars In America - August 2012

July 2012 Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The United Kingdom

The ten best-selling cars in the United Kingdom in July 2012 were, for the most part, the same cars which end every month as the UK's best-selling cars. The exceptions? Audi's A3 and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. 

Through the first seven months of 2012, the best-selling premium brand car in the United Kingdom is still the BMW 3-Series, 4735 sales ahead of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, July's seventh-ranked car. The 3-Series didn't crack the top ten in July.

Overall, the best-selling car in the UK was the Ford Fiesta. As Fiesta sales shot up 13% (in a market which rose 9%), Focus sales dropped 24%. That was the second worst decline among cars in the top 10. Year-to-date, the Fiesta is 14,147 sales ahead of its closest rival, the similarly-sized and similarly-priced Vauxhall Corsa. Corsa sales are up 21% this year.

America's 20 best-selling cars in July also featured the Focus - America's tenth-best-selling car - but none of the other cars on this list appeared on that U.S. list. Brands competing for UK customers have already been ranked by total July volume. Below, take a look at the UK's ten most popular auto nameplates.

Rank	Best-Selling Car	July 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Ford Fiesta	7533	+ 12.5%	67,103	+ 15.0%
#2	Vauxhall Corsa	5809	+ 13.4%	52,956	+ 21.1%
#3	Vauxhall Astra	5211	+ 27.6%	35,694	- 3.4%
#4	Ford Focus	4742	- 23.9%	48,595	- 3.0%
#5	Volkswagen Golf	4367	+ 2.2%	38,939	+ 4.1%
#6	Nissan Qashqai	3721	+ 9.7%	27,156	+ 16.1%
#7	Mercedes-Benz C-Class	3163	n/a	20,780	n/a
#8	Volkswagen Polo	2863	- 22.3%	25,212	- 5.2%
#9	Audi A3	2711	n/a	n/a	n/a
#10	Vauxhall Insignia	2591	- 35.8%	20,481	- 31.7%

Source: Manufacturers, MTI & SMMT
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - August 2012
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - June 2012
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The UK - July 2011
UK Auto Sales By Brand - July 2012

United Kingdom Auto Sales By Brand - May 2012

Brits registered 162,288 new vehicles in May 2012 according to the SMMT, a 7.9% increase over May 2011. The United Kingdom's new car market is up 2.6% through five months. Ford is very clearly the best-selling new car brand in the UK; Volkswagen is just as clearly the leading auto manufacturing conglomerate. 

Click Chart For Larger View

BMW sales increased in May, but not to the extent that Audi has been superseded as the UK's top-selling premium brand in 2012. Audi's lead over BMW did shrink to 4857 units by the end of May, however. Mercedes-Benz, the third-ranked premium automaker, is more than 17,000 units clear of fourth-ranked Land Rover.

Yes, that's Land Rover you see ahead of Honda. It's not abnormal in UK car sales to see Honda trailing the British SUV-maker. This is the third time in 2012 that it's happened, although Honda outsold Land Rover by nearly 13,000 units in 2011. It's not that any Honda machine lines up against a Land Rover SUV, but these rankings show the relative weakness of Honda in the United Kingdom, the strength of Land Rover in its home market, and the strength of Honda in the United States. For every Land Rover sold in America in May, Honda sold 35 vehicles.

Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The United Kingdom - May 2012

While Land Rover, Suzuki, Chevrolet, Lexus, and Chrysler posted huge year-over-year percentage gains in May 2012, Subaru continues its slide out of the British new car market's collective consciousness. Subaru sold only 86 cars in the United Kingdom in May. Bentley and smart both sold more. Year-to-date, Subaru sales are down 22%. 

Click the accompanying market share chart for a look at which automakers are truly dominant and which are truly niche-oriented. GoodCarBadCar will shortly publish a list of May 2012's ten best-selling cars in the UK. For the first time this year, a Ford isn't in top spot. In the table below you'll find detailed May 2012 sales figures. Brands are ranked by total volume.

Rank	Automaker	May 2012	%  Change	Year To Date	YTD  % Change
#1	Ford	23,255	+ 7.8%	126,724	+ 5.6%
#2	Vauxhall	20,275	+ 7.6%	94,598	- 8.9%
#3	Volkswagen	15,511	+ 0.7%	78,684	+ 1.0%
#4	BMW	10,303	+ 4.3%	50,212	+ 4.2%
#5	Audi	10,116	+ 11.4%	55,069	+ 7.5%
#6	Peugeot	8238	+ 10.6%	43,774	+ 4.7%
#7	Mercedes-Benz	7282	+ 20.4%	39,579	+ 15.4%
#8	Nissan	6722	- 14.8%	43,159	+ 8.2%
#9	Toyota	6250	+ 43.0%	38,201	+ 17.0%
#10	Citroen	6039	+ 21.9%	30,949	+ 4.1%
#11	Kia	5176	+ 33.6%	27507	+ 24.0%
#12	Hyundai	4774	+ 11.8%	27,806	+ 6.0%
#13	Skoda	4696	+ 4.7%	22,613	+ 18.2%
#14	Fiat	4073	+ 31.2%	20,807	+ 13.2%
#15	Land Rover	3860	+ 60.8%	22,303	+ 28.4%
#16	Honda	3625	+ 27.9%	21,785	- 4.1%
#17	Mini	3576	- 16.1%	17,463	- 6.6%
#18	Renault	2814	- 37.3%	16,476	- 44.4%
#19	Seat	2669	+ 10.2%	15,755	+ 2.1%
#20	Volvo	2649	- 7.1%	14,151	- 3.0%
#21	Mazda	1901	- 7.7%	12,957	- 8.1%
#22	Suzuki	1824	+ 91.4%	10,568	+ 18.4%
#23	Chevrolet	1430	+ 77.2%	7622	+ 35.1%
#24	Jaguar	1126	+ 0.2%	5951	+ 4.9%
#25	Porsche	741	+ 15.4%	3168	+ 27.7%
#26	Lexus	695	+ 47.6%	3938	+ 11.5%
#27	Alfa Romeo	584	- 43.8%	3530	- 35.8%
#28	Mitsubishi	554	- 37.6%	3092	- 40.5%
#29	smart	309	- 24.8%	2175	- 3.5%
#30	Chrysler	266	+ 619%	1265	+ 398%
#31	Jeep	157	- 21.5%	967	+ 19.5%
#32	Bentley	137	+ 24.6%	558	+ 17.7%
#33	Subaru	86	- 67.4%	1089	- 22.4%
#34	Abarth	82	+ 1.2%	504	- 14.6%
#35	Ssangyong	74	-----	376	+ 4078%
#36	Aston Martin	54	- 38.6%	422	- 16.4%
#37	MG	49	- 2.0%	511	+ 547%
T38	Lotus	36	+ 20.0%	79	- 60.5%
T38	Perodua	36	- 21.7%	211	- 15.6%
#40	Maserati	25	- 19.4%	150	- 12.8%
#41	Infiniti	21	+ 40.0%	268	+ 75.2%
#42	Proton	16	- 63.6%	138	- 45.9%
#43	Saab	6	- 98.4%	143	- 95.6%
---	-----	-----	-----	-----	-----
---	VW Group  & Porsche	33,870	+ 5.4%	175,847	+ 5.5%
---	FoMoCo	23,255	+ 7.8%	126,724	+ 5.6%
---	Vauxhall  & Chevrolet	21,705	+ 10.5%	102,220	- 6.6%
---	Peugeot  & Citroen	14,277	+ 15.1%	74,723	+ 4.5%
---	BMW & Mini	13,879	- 1.9%	67,675	+ 1.2%
---	Hyundai & Kia	9950	+ 22.2%	55,313	+ 14.3%
---	Renault,  Nissan & Infiniti	9557	- 22.9%	55,903	- 19.8%
---	Mercedes-Benz & smart	7591	+ 17.5%	41,654	+ 14.0%
---	Toyota & Lexus	6945	+ 43.5%	42139	+ 16.5%
---	Fiat Group,  Chrysler & Jeep	5187	+ 15.5%	27,223	+ 5.9%
---	Jaguar  & Land Rover	4986	+ 41.4%	28,254	+ 22.6%
---	Honda	3625	+ 27.9%	21,785	- 4.1%

Source: Automakers & SMMT

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
UK Auto Sales By Brand - June 2012
UK Auto Sales By Brand - April 2012
UK Auto Sales By Brand - March 2012
Top 10 Best-Selling Cars In The United Kingdom - May 2012
Canada Auto Sales By Brand - May 2012
U.S. Auto Sales By Brand - May 2012