Small Luxury SUV Sales And Midsize Luxury SUV Sales In America - April 2012

The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque has been on sale in the United States since October. In every month since December, sales of its less-expensive sibling, the LR2, have risen on a year-over-year basis. Yet after reporting nine consecutive months with year-over-year increases to begin 2011, the Evoque's somewhat pricier sibling, the LR4, has reported falling sales in six of the seven months since the Evoque went on sale. LR2 sales were up 3% in April and are up 28% this year. Sales of the LR4 slid 26% in April and are off last year's pace by 6% through the first four months of 2012.

April 2012 Small Luxury SUV Sales Chart
Click Either Chart For A Larger View

Neither of the two small Land Rovers are what you'd call best sellers, however. The Cadillac SRX sold nearly five times more frequently than the Evoque in April. The really rather conventional Mercedes-Benz M-Class was nearly four times more popular. And we haven't even gotten to the Lexus RX, America's top-selling luxury utility, which found 6842 buyers in April, a not especially good month for the best-selling Lexus.

Of course, Land Rover is something of a niche brand; the Evoque a niche player in a niche lineup. There's not an overwhelming supply of Halewood-built Evoques in America, but it is interesting that Land Rover hasn't yet been able to match October's volume. Relatively weak sales have nothing to do with its Good 12-winning status, of course, but one has to assume that the best way for Land Rover to sell more Evoques would be - other than building more of them - for more North Americans to see them out and about on highways and city streets. Auto observers and analysts are well acquainted with its style, but so long as the Evoque remains exceedingly rare, too few potential buyers are aware of its merits.

April 2012 Midsize Luxury SUV Sales Chart

Selling luxury SUVs isn't an easy task, however. Porsche's highly-regarded Cayenne was down 13% in April and is down 7% so far this year. The aging Volvo XC90 fell 21% last month. Sales of non-JX Infiniti crossovers were down sharply, as well. 

Monthly sales data going back to January 2011 and yearly sales data going back to 2002 (for these models and every other vehicle currently on sale) can be accessed through the first dropdown at GoodCarBadCar's Sales Stats home. After the jump, April 2012's U.S. luxury SUV sales info is displayed in detail. Click any of the accompanying charts for a larger view.

Small Luxury SUV	April 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Acura RDX	1984	+ 47.7%	4882	- 1.9%
Audi Q5	2462	+ 24.5%	8432	+ 17.4%
BMW X3	2479	+ 8.9%	9132	+ 14.3%
Cadillac SRX	3998	- 8.7%	17,290	- 5.7%
Infiniti EX	226	- 48.5%	1236	- 39.1%
Land Rover LR2	233	+ 3.1%	1006	+ 28.0%
Land Rover  Range Rover Evoque	806	-----	2986	-----
Mercedes-Benz GLK	2067	+ 7.3%	8095	+ 9.9%
Volvo XC60	1261	+ 3.4%	5134	+ 8.3%

Midsize Luxury SUV	April 2012	% Change	Year To Date	YTD % Change
Acura MDX	3952	+ 1.0%	14,151	- 5.6%
Acura ZDX	71	- 59.7%	269	- 62.6%
Audi Q7	887	+ 12.3%	2842	- 6.1%
BMW X5	3561	+ 50.9%	12,236	+ 21.7%
BMW X6	405	- 22.4%	1438	- 7.8%
Infiniti FX	486	- 25.0%	3525	- 6.5%
Infiniti JX35	2079	-----	2619	-----
Land Rover LR4	492	- 26.1%	2473	- 6.0%
Land Rover Range Rover Sport	1199	- 9.6%	4775	+ 5.6%
Lexus GX460	751	- 26.3%	3272	- 26.4%
Lexus RX	6842	- 12.3%	24,729	- 14.3%
Lincoln MKT	1298	+ 56.8%	4585	+ 50.0%
Lincoln MKX	1882	+ 1.2%	8309	+ 13.7%
Mercedes-Benz M-Class	3057	+ 53.6%	14,537	+ 58.2%
Porsche Cayenne	1376	- 12.8%	4281	- 7.1%
Volkswagen Touareg	718	+ 12.2%	3020	+ 46.7%
Volvo XC90	678	- 21.2%	3260	+ 3.0%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC

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