January 2013 Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada

This new best-selling luxury format was explained earlier this month. To paraphrase the U.S. best-selling luxury post: "In order to better display which cars well-off Canadians are buying, GCBC has severely altered the format of the monthly Canadian best-selling luxury vehicles list. The format is explained below the table, but it should be noted that the main reason for exploring this new way of defining "luxury" is based more on cost and less on alleged brand image. In fact, it's based exclusively on cost and not at all on brand image."

January 2013's 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada

Click Chart For Larger View

This change doesn't mean it's time to say the Mercedes-Benz M-Class, sales of which fell 42% to 283 in January, was the best-selling luxury vehicle in Canada in 2012. BMW sold 676 copies of the 3-Series, for example. But in terms of vehicles we likely all agree are expensive, the M-Class was tops in January. M-Class rivals like the the BMW X5, Audi Q7, and Infiniti FX also slid harshly.

A surprising 35% of the Cadillac Escalades sold in Canada in January were Avalanche-based EXTs. Range Rover sales quadrupled. 55% of Porsche Canada volume came from the Cayenne.

All 240 Vehicles Ranked By January 2013 Canadian Sales

GCBC published a list of Canada's overall 30 best-selling vehicles earlier this morning. Historical monthly and yearly sales figures for vehicles not listed here are always available by selecting a make and model at the Sales Stats page. These 15 vehicles, however, were the top-selling $50K+ vehicles in Canada last month.

Rank	Luxury Vehicle  (Min. Base Price $50,000)	January 2013	% Change	Year  To Date	YTD % Change
#1	Mercedes-Benz M-Class	283	- 41.5%	283	- 41.5%
#2	Acura MDX	257	+ 5.8%	257	+ 5.8%
#3	BMW X5	193	- 11.9%	193	- 11.9%
T4	Mercedes-Benz  GL-Class & G-Class	191	+ 57.9%	191	+ 57.9%
T4	BMW 5-Series	191	+ 55.3%	191	+ 55.3%
#6	Mercedes-Benz  E-Class & CLS-Class	117	- 36.8%	117	- 36.8%
#7	Land Rover  Range Rover Sport	108	+ 21.3%	108	+ 21.3%
#8	Audi Q7	103	- 35.6%	103	- 35.6%
#9	Porsche Cayenne	88	+ 29.4%	88	+ 29.4%
#10	Land Rover Range Rover	84	+ 320%	84	+ 320%
#11	Cadillac Escalade	63	- 11.3%	63	- 11.3%
#12	Toyota Sequoia	60	+ 11.1%	60	+ 11.1%
#13	Chevrolet Suburban	51	- 32.0%	51	- 32.0%
#14	Infiniti FX	49	- 12.5%	49	- 12.5%
#15	Audi A6	48	- 43.5%	48	- 43.5%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales 
$50,000 USD (before delivery) is an arbitrary borderline, but if GCBC was to follow this new system of designating only expensive vehicles as luxury vehicles, $50K seemed like a safe place to begin - it equals the average U.S. new car transaction price plus $15,000, plus another $5000 to account for Canadian increases. Plenty of less expensive vehicles with specific models feature prices above $50,000 - M, RS, and AMG models come to mind, specifically - but in the case of this list, we know that none of the registrations were of cars priced at $35,900, as would be the case with the BMW 320i, which costs less than a Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0T Limited. The list has been cut from 30 to 15 - 30 "best sellers" would have made up a large portion of the 50-odd vehicles on sale in Canada with base prices above $50,000 and would have therefore diluted the "best-selling" message. The biggest problem with a $50,000 minimum price of entry? Cars like the Cadillac XTS, which starts at $48,995, sporty cars like the $48,600 Audi TT, and SUVs like the $49,930 Chevrolet Tahoe.

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 15 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - February 2013
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - 2012 Year End
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - December 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Luxury Vehicles In Canada - January 2012
Canada Auto Sales Brand Rankings - January 2013
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada - January 2013