23 February 2017

Global Premium Comparison Wrap Up : 2010-16

It was a mammoth series and showed how far ahead the BAM brands are, if you didn't already know. Things are changing as things always do. Mercedes Benz passed the BMW brand (but not Group), the US trio (Cadillac, Lincoln and Tesla) all went well. JLR continued thier remarkable transformation.

So was there a star performance worth noting above all else? I pick Jaguar. A 77.1% increase is a testament to how well the company is being managed at the moment. For too long it was under performing but the 'Leaping Cat' is back.

If you want to review all the series by nation, just click on the country below.

For the full series:
AustraliaAustriaBelgiumBrazilCanadaFranceGermanyIsrael,
ItalyJapanKoreaMexicoNetherlandsNew ZealandNorway,
PortugalRSASpainSwedenSwitzerlandTurkeyUKUSA.

Global Premium Comparison (Brand) : 2010-16

The series on premium car sales by nation has been concluded. Now for the global overview. How has each company done in a total market that has grown 7.6%?

BAM Brands: BMW/Mini took a quarter of all sales, although a 5.3% increase in sales was below the 7.6% globally. Mini was up 6/4% against BMW's 5.2%. Mercedes-Benz sales were up a strong 11.3% and that pushed it just passed the BMW brand. However, MINI ensured the Stuttgart marque is still second best. Audi's modest 3.8% rise for the VW marque had it losing ground to the two leading German brands. Still a confortable third globally.

The Others: Lexus had the same increase as Audi which had it also losing share slightly. JLR passed Volvo into 5th spot with a 19.8% increase. Jaguar's 77% spurt was the key ingredient. Volvo had a solid 6.2% gain, and should gather momentum with new models.

Of the rest, Cadillac, Lincoln and Tesla all exceeded the market in terms of growth while my estimate figure for Acura (accurate I assure you) made it the only marque in retreat. Alfa Romeo is about to take off and the 14.9% for 2016 is a sign of things to come.


14 15 Make 2016 % +/-

1 1 BMW Gr 2,363,600 25.2% 5%



BMW 2,003,400 21.3% 5%



MINI 360,200 3.8% 6%

2 2 Mercedes 2,083,900 22.2% 11%

3 3 Audi 1,871,300 19.9% 4%

4 4 Lexus 677,000 7.2% 4%

6 5 JLR 583,300 6.2% 20%



Land Rover 434,600 4.6% 8%



Jaguar 148,700 1.6% 77%

5 6 Volvo 534,300 5.7% 6%

7 7 Cadillac 308,700 3.3% 11%

8 8 Porsche 237,800 2.5% 6%

9 9 Infiniti 230,000 2.5% 7%

10 10 Acura 194,000 2.1% -6%

11 11 Lincoln 155,000 1.7% 26%

12 12 Tesla 76,200 0.8% 51%

13 13 Alfa Romeo 70,000 0.7% 15%



Total 9,385,100
8%

Summary: The premium arena is no longer easy pickings for the BAM marques. Others are coming back with gusto but they will not hand over market share without a fight. I see 'pricing realignments' as the battle heats up.

Text source: RayCee.


Korea Premium Comparison : 2010-16

Premium cars are proving popular in many nations. They are often outselling cheaper mainstream brand while at the same time making more profit. More recently the most aggressive attack on this segment have been the BAM marques, BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz. However other car makers are striking back and the competition is heating up. So a look at sales in this decade would be interesting.

First taking the BAM brands out of the equation, how are things shaping up in Korea? From 2010 to 2016, other premium sales were up 220%. Now individually: JLR +762% (LR +1,023% Jag +423%) Porsche 352% Volvo +218% Lexus +175% Cadillac +39% Infiniti +3%.

Year 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Total 37,689 29,885 21,952 15,846 12,951 12,195 11,782
JLR 14,399 9,975 6,664 5,004 3,113 2,399 1,670
Land Rover 10,601 7,171 4,675 3,103 1,916 1,383 944
Jaguar 3,798 2,804 1,989 1,901 1,197 1,016 726
Lexus 10,594 7,956 6,464 5,425 4,976 4,111 3,857
Volvo 5,206 4,238 2,976 1,960 1,768 1,480 1,638
Porsche 3,187 3,856 2,568 2,041 1,516 1,301 705
Infiniti 3,201 2,974 2,777 1,116 1,103 2,152 3,118
Cadillac 1,102 886 503 300 475 752 794

Summary: Land Rover and Jaguar grew the most but virtually all makes did very well. The Land Rover increases are extraordinary in any context, even allowing for their relatively small 2010 starting point. I didn't include the local Genesis brand, which is now Hyundai's premium make. It would have distorted the figures artificially. 23,000 sales arriving in one year!

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Now adding the other brands to the BAM marques, how do things stack up? Total sales growth goes to 206%, due to the BAM brands increasing 202%. The 'Others' took 21% in 2010, fell away but have come back with 22% in 2016. The BAM marques took 78% of all premium sales in 2016.

Year 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Total 167,841 164,795 131,558 100,037 82,545 69,649 54,835
BMW Group 57,091 55,378 46,746 39,367 34,079 27,575 19,018
BMW 48,459 47,877 40,174 33,066 28,152 23,293 16,798
Mini 8,632 7,501 6,572 6,301 5,927 4,282 2,220
Mercedes 56,343 46,994 35,213 24,780 20,389 19,534 16,115
Others 37,689 29,885 21,952 15,846 12,951 12,195 11,782
Audi 16,718 32,538 27,647 20,044 15,126 10,345 7,920

Summary: The BAM trio are the favourite marques but it is all rather even at the moment. Audi took a hit with the VW scandal. It is still one of the three best selling but JLR has closed in on that spot. BMW Group is just holding off Mercedes for the top spot. The three biggest in 2016 were 1)  BMW & Mini, 2) Mercedes, 3) Audi. (Had Genesis been included, it would have been third).

Text source: RayCee.

22 February 2017

Japan Premium Comparison : 2010-16

Premium cars are proving popular in many nations. They are often outselling cheaper mainstream brand while at the same time making more profit. More recently the most aggressive attack on this segment have been the BAM marques, BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz. However other car makers are striking back and the competition is heating up. So a look at sales in this decade would be interesting.

First taking the BAM brands out of the equation, how are things shaping up in Japan? From 2010 to 2016, premium sales for these makes were up 68%. Now individually: JLR +224% (LR +335% Jag +153%) Porsche +106% Volvo +87% Lexus +56%  Alfa Romeo -3% Cadillac -7%. Infiniti and Acura are not sold here, which I think is a missed opportunity.

Year 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Total 81,987 75,790 70,505 76,906 70,168 62,447 48,794
Lexus 52,150 48,231 44,246 46,772 43,657 42,365 33,365
Volvo 14,533 13,510 13,277 16,918 13,878 11,787 7,767
Porsche 6,887 6,690 5,385 4,869 4,661 3,658 3,335
JLR 6,048 4,328 4,199 4,339 2,785 1,910 1,865
Land Rover 3,165 2,979 3,126 3,347 1,771 890 727
Jaguar 2,883 1,349 1,073 992 1,014 1,020 1,138
Alfa Romeo 1,767 2,321 2,661 3148 4,452 1,863 1,816
Cadillac 602 710 737 860 735 864 646

Summary: Land Rover and Jaguar but neither of those marques are that big even now. Over three times the number of Land Rovers are sold in Korea, that being a much smaller market as well. Lexus has 63% of the sales for those listed here which the least of what you would expect.

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Now adding the other brands to the BAM marques, how do things stack up? Total sales growth goes to 80%, due to the BAM brands increasing 87%. The 'Others' took 35% in 2010 and 32% in 2016. The BAM marques took 68% of all premium sales in 2016.

Year 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
Total 253,330 237,984 226,423 222,547 193,698 165,505 140,534
Others 81,987 75,790 70,505 76,906 70,168 62,447 48,794
BMW Group 75,463 67,621 63,671 63,245 57,466 48,685 43,966
BMW 50,913 46,538 46,073 46,263 41,254 34,335 32,628
Mini 24,550 21,083 17,598 16,982 16,212 14,350 11,338
Mercedes 67,378 65,159 60,834 53,720 41,901 33,207 30,920
Audi 28,502 29,414 31,413 28,676 24,163 21,166 16,854

Summary: The BAM trio do well here with Mercedes and MINI growing the most in recent years. Audi is a much smaller here than other countries with just 11% of premium sales. MINI almost outsells it! The three biggest in 2016 were 1) BMW & Mini, 2) Mercedes 3) Lexus.

Text source: RayCee.