Most popular luxury car brands in Australia so far in 2022

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Volvo Australia announced this week that it had broken its own sales records in June 2022 – the second month in a row the Swedish-Chinese luxury manufacturer had sold a record number of cars.

Volvo sold 1174 vehicles in June 2022, up from its previous record of 1121 cars which was accomplished in May 2022. 

In the June VFACTS report, the Volvo XC40 was ranked third in the luxury compact SUV segment, sitting behind the Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class. 

Volvo’s XC60 and XC90 currently hold third and fourth spots in their respective segments of medium and large luxury SUVs. 

These numbers are impressive considering that Volvo models sit in the luxury segment which is not an attainable area of vehicle for a lot of Australians.

In an otherwise down market, Volvo’s success begs the question: which premium and luxury car brands are faring well so far in 2022, and which are facing the worst headwinds?

Biggest increase in sales: Genesis 

Genesis has done incredibly well over the past 12 months, achieving a 79.5 percent increase in sales since this time in 2021.

No other luxury brand came close in June’s VFACTS report. The next closest increase in sales was Ferrari, which had a 21.8 percent increase when compared to 2021 figures (but ‘only’ sold a total of 106 cars so far this year), and Porsche with a 17.6 percent increase. 

Biggest decrease in sales: Jaguar 

The brand which had the biggest decrease in sales was Jaguar, with a massive slump meaning it was down 41.3 percent when compared to what it sold in 2021.

And while Ferrari is doing relatively well, its closest competitor, Lamborghini, is on struggle street and is down 45.7 percent when compared with its 2021 figures. 

Land Rover (-32.7), Volkswagen (-37.5) and Lexus (-27) were also down significantly as the luxury market continued to struggle.  

Luxury cars only account for a small portion of new car sales, and as cost of living and inflation increases, less and less people find themselves in the market for a more expensive new car. 

Small luxury car segment

Sales leader: Mercedes-Benz A-Class (1510 units so far in 2022, down 33 percent on 2021)

Highest growth in 2022: Audi A3 – 195 percent growth on 2021

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a definite winner in this segment, selling 1510 examples in Australia up to June 2022, however the model is still down when compared to its figures in 2021, where it sold 2259 units. 

The Mini Clubman, on the other hand, hasn’t fared so well in 2022, selling only 147 examples so far in 2022. 

Medium luxury cars in Australia

Sales leader: Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 1736 sales so far in 2022

Highest growth in 2022: Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class – 100.4 percent up from 2021

Again, Mercedes-Benz was smashing it with the C-Class, which saw 1736 deliveries occur in the first half of 2022. The C-Class was down on its 2021 figures, however, where it sold 2314 units of the midsize sedan. 

On the other end of the sales charts was the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Audi A5 Sportback, which sold just 133 and 197 units respectively. Audi’s A5 Sportback was down 45.6 percent on last year’s figures. 

Large luxury cars in Australia 

Sales leader: Porsche Taycan – 307 sales so far in 2022

Highest growth in 2022: Genesis G80, 32.1 percent up from 2021

Despite its high price, the Porsche Taycan has been extremely popular in the EV space, with 307 deliveries taking place in the first half of 2022. You might not think that is a great deal, but when you compare it to the fact that the petrol-powered Porsche 911 only sold 338 units in the same period of time, that is a pretty special accomplishment. 

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has also done well in the first half with 163 registrations. 

So who lost in the first half of 2022 in the large luxury car segment? Jaguar did, selling just 11 of its XF sedan.

Upper large luxury cars in Australia

Sales leader: Mercedes-Benz S-Class – 101 sold so far in 2022

Highest growth in 2022: BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe – up 50 percent from 2021

The biggest winner of the upper large luxury car segment in Australia was the Mercedes-Benz S-Class which delivered 101 luxury sedans to owners during the first half of 2022. This was slightly down on what the S-Class achieved in 2021, when it sold 139 units in the same time frame. 

The shock sales result for this segment was the Mercedes-AMG GT Four Door, which sold just 1 car in the first half of 2022, down 6 from last year’s sales results. 

Small luxury SUVs in Australia

Sales leader: Volvo XC40, 2763 units sold so far in 2022

Highest growth in 2022: Mercedes-Benz EQA, 403.4 percent up from 2021 figures

The big winner for the first half of 2022 is the Volvo XC40, which has had a huge 2022 so far, selling 2763 units up to June 2022. The XC40 surpassed the likes of the BMW X1 and Audi Q3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class. 

The loser in all of this was the Jaguar E-Pace which couldn’t keep up with the latest and greatest luxury SUVs on the market, selling only 159 units in the first half of the year. 

Medium luxury SUVs in Australia

Sales leader: Mercedes-Benz GLC, 3614 units sold so far in 2022

Highest growth in 2022: Genesis GV70, up 706.3 percent on 2021 figures 

The Mercedes-Benz GLC has become the best selling medium-sized luxury SUV in Australia with 3614 units sold up to June 2022, and was closely followed by the BMW X3 (2486) and Volvo XC60 (2044).

The medium-sized luxury SUVs that suffered in the first half of 2022 were the Alfa Romeo Stelvio with 161 sales, and Range Rover’s Evoque, which dropped from 746 sales last year to 393 sales this year. 

Large luxury SUVs in Australia 

Sales leader: BMW X5, 1645 units sold so far in 2022

Highest growth in 2022: Porsche Cayenne (wagon), up 76.4 percent on 2021 figures

The king of the large luxury SUV game in Australia is most definitely the BMW X5, which sold a significant 1645 units so far this year, followed closely by Mercedes-Benz which delivered 1587 GLE-Class’ to customers up to June 2022. 

The biggest luxury SUVs, the Nissan Patrol and Toyota Land Cruiser, have both sold very well this year so far, with the Land Cruiser delivering 5896 units, toppling Nissan which delivered 3326 Patrols to Australian households. 

Not all luxury SUVs are doing well, however. Expensive luxury SUVs such as the Audi E-tron sold just 67 units, while the Volkswagen Touareg sold just 395 units, down massively from the 830 it sold by this time of year in 2021. 

Luxury sports cars in Australia

Sales leader: Porsche 911 – 338 sold so far in 2022

Highest growth in 2022: BMW 8 Series, up 60 percent on 2021 figures 

Luxury sports cars are certainly cool but definitely not an achievable goal for a lot of people. That being said, the most popular luxury sports car for the first half of 2022 was the Porsche 911 that had 338 registrations. 

This iconic sports car was followed by the Toyota Supra, which sold 89 units, and then Porsche’s 718 Boxster (64)/Cayman (65) duo, both doing well considering their niche appeal to buyers. 

Ferrari and Maserati have both made big recoveries from COVID-19, with Ferrari selling 106 cars (up from 87 in 2021), while Maserati has made a miraculous comeback from 2021 when it sold 1 coupe or convertible last year, and has now sold 13 so far in 2022. 

The biggest fail of this segment were the 15 Jaguar F-Type solds so far in 2022, down from 29 last year, and the McLaren range of supercars, which went from 45 to 28 cars over the span of 12 months. 

Also, Lamborghini is yet to sell a Huracan or Aventador this year, while it sold 35 in 2021.