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:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Portugal, RSA, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, USA.

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.

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.