Premium Marque Deliveries : 2026

It wasn't all beer and skittles for premium marques in 2025. Deliveries for the brands I've assembled here were up just 2%. Add the congestion of new Chinese entrants and it's game on. 

A few of the figures are educated estimates and there may be the odd newbie that I haven't noticed or doesn't provide data.

BMW/MINI has 18% of the total. MINI had a good year and pushed the combined total into positive territory. 

Mercedes-Benz and Tesla both registered 9% falls which is not unsubstantial. JLR was down 15% but the temporary demise of Jaguar and the cyber attack contributed to a large degree. 

Xpeng and Xiaomi had huge increases but Zeekr maintained the status quo. Porsche was down 10% and Li Auto dropped 19%. It is all a bit fluid at the minute and how it will pan out is up in the air. 2026 will hopefully provide some clarity. 

Premium Global Marque Sales : 2024

Many manufacturers put out their global data while others don't. You can spot the difference by the rounded numbers. They are all based on something, not wild guesses. The total remained much the same.

The BMW Group held on to the top spot as expected, despite a 4% drop in volume. Mercedes-Benz was close to last year as was Tesla. Audi took a tumble as it pulled back on deliveries. Lexus is an estimate but the brand did well in many markets. 

Volvo too had a strong result as did JLR. Jaguar was down less than expected as it stopped sales in the UK and ran down stock. The new low volume electric luxury era is ahead for Jaguar so they won't qualify for this list. 

Cadillac were well down in China but Lincoln was up strongly there. Fisker went out of business so the number is based on what had sold at that point and stock yet to be sold. That was the hardest figure to judge.

The new Chinese entrants in this area of the market are arriving. Hongqi got past Porsche into eighth place. Other Chinese brands are Zeekr, Nio and Xpeng and a new one Xiaomi is already moving fast. 

There are probably more than are listed here but keeping up is the issue. Also, what constitutes premium is getting blurred. Tesla hasn't convinced me but it is generally considered so. Many of the new premium Chinese brands seem to be of a similar ilk. 

Data source: Manufacturers, estimates.

Updated 31.01.25.

Global Premium Marque Sales : 2023

Total global sales of premium cars was up 14.6% for the ones listed below. It excludes luxury marques and brands. There are possibly some brands that would like to consider themselves premium and if you can think of worthy candidates missing, please drop a comment below. Numbers that are rounded are estimates based on information gathered. 

The BMW Group retains its leadership with over 2.5 million sales. Adding MINI puts a considerable distance between it and second placed Mercedes-Benz.  Audi's third place looks increasingly at risk with Tesla now breathing down its neck. 

Below then is a gap to Lexus and Volvo and then another to JLR and then it cascades down from there. JLR will do well to grow from here with Jaguar being turned into a boutique brand and Land Rover about where they want to be. 

Cadillac is facing headwinds in China but is hoping to enter new markets but retaining the same volume will be a challenge. Acura looks good but came off an unusually poor 2022. Polestar has hit a very low ceiling which isn't what they expected. They will be trying to rectify that. Fisker will disappear as quickly as it arrived.

China wants to enter the premium arena and already has a few in that field. Brand equity is very important at the premium level so nurturing that is what new entrants need to cultivate with care. 

Global Premium Brand Sales : 2022-23

I put together a list of premium marques, rounded to the nearest thousand. It excludes those I'd consider luxury although at times there is overlap between them. Many of the figures come from the manufacturer while some others are based on sales I do know with the balance estimated.  

BMW is the largest of all the brands and with MINI added clearly the leading marque. Tesla has achieved fourth place for two years now and not that far away from improving on that. The semiconductor shortage hit many brands, especially JLR, but Tesla didn't seem to suffer in that regard. 

The most interesting part for me was further down, with long standing names rubbing shoulders - or about to - with upstart start ups. One of the newbies in terms of volume has been around since 1958. Any guesses? 

Hongqi (top picture) made its first car in 1958 although it hasn't been continuously produced since then. It reminded me of the now defunct Zil marque from Russia. It was large and premium but made for local consumption and for officials. How many were made I can't say but nothing like the numbers being produced now. 

Neither Acura (the red car above) nor Infiniti had a strong 2022 but early signs for 2023 paint a rosier picture. It's been a tough road for Rivian and Lucid and 2023 will be important for both of them. Alfa Romeo  (picture to the right) will do much better with the new Tonale. With a lessening of the chip shortage, manufacturers will be hoping for improved sales for 2023. 

Premium Marque Production (By Brand) : 2019

2019 wasn't a good year for Alfa Romeo. Is some sort of
co-operation with the likes of Jaguar a way forward?

World vehicle production was down in 2019, but the premium marques managed a slight increase. The numbers below are either sourced from the manufacturer or are educated estimates. The list brought the total made to just over ten million units.

Mercedes has the lead if based on the logo, but add MINI to BMW and it wins as a company. Lexus and Volvo are doing an excellent job in closing the sizable gap above them. JLR was also in the same boat but problems in the Chinese market has seen to that.

I'm reluctant to call Tesla premium but they seem to compete in that area on price if not quality. They had a huge increase of 50% but that will change in 2020, as they reach the ceiling of how far they can go, for now at least. I added a couple of Chinese entries, Borgward and Qoros. It will be interesting to see where they end up.

	18	19	Make	2019	%	+/-
	1	1	BMW Group	2,558,500	24.9%	3%
			BMW	2,162,063	21.0%	2%
			MINI	396,437	3.9%	10%
	2	2	Mercedes	2,320,000	22.6%	0%
	3	3	Audi	1,794,021	17.5%	-1%
	4	4	Lexus	762,484	7.4%	9%
	5	5	Volvo	705,452	6.9%	10%
	6	6	JLR	486,707	4.7%	-18%
			Land Rover	352,522	3.4%	-14%
			Jaguar	134,185	1.3%	-26%
	9	7	Tesla	367,500	3.6%	50%
	7	8	Cadillac	360,000	3.5%	-6%
	8	9	Porsche	274,463	2.7%	7%
	11	10	Acura	200,000	1.9%	3%
	10	11	Infiniti	184,000	1.8%	-22%
	12	12	Lincoln	181,831	1.8%	13%
	14	13	Genesis	77,135	0.8%	-10%
	13	14	Alfa Romeo	76,365	0.7%	-36%
	16	15	Borgward	52,736	0.5%	61%
	15	16	Qoros	17,697	0.2%	-73%
			Total	10,272,093		2%

Global Premium Sales (Brand) : 2017-18

The premium market has been outstripping mainstream car sales for some time. However, the signs are there that this may be coming to an end. Global sales went from +6% in 2017 to +2% in 2018. We will see if that is a lasting trend. I get a feeling that it is.

The BMW Group is the biggest premium entity with close to 2.5 million sales. Mercedes Benz was closing the gap but that didn't happen in 2018, with both registering +1% growth. Audi managed to drop just 3% but it could be more of the same in 2019.

Lexus held on th 4th place, with Volvo passing JLR with new models. JLR pulled back on sales in China and that hurt volumes. As for the rest, Tesla did exceptionally well but is a company still in its automotive infancy. It still has to prove it can go the distance, and I'm not talking range anxiety.

I haven't got Acura data but it seems to be about the same as 2017.

17	18	Make	2018	%	+/-	2017	%	+/-
1	1	BMW Group	2,486,557	24.5%	1%	2,460,164	24.8%	4%
		BMW	2,125,026	20.9%	2%	2,088,283	21.0%	4%
		MINI	361,531	3.6%	-3%	371,881	3.7%	3%
2	2	Mercedes	2,310,185	22.8%	1%	2,289,344	23.1%	10%
3	3	Audi	1,812,500	17.9%	-3%	1,878,100	18.9%	0%
4	4	Lexus	698,330	6.9%	4%	668,515	6.7%	-1%
6	5	Volvo	642,253	6.3%	12%	571,577	5.8%	7%
5	6	JLR	592,708	5.8%	-5%	621,109	6.3%	6%
		Land Rover	411,875	4.1%	-7%	442,508	4.5%	2%
		Jaguar	180,833	1.8%	1%	178,601	1.8%	20%
7	7	Cadillac	382,148	3.8%	7%	356,467	3.6%	15%
9	8	Porsche	256,255	2.5%	4%	246,375	2.5%	4%
13	9	Tesla	245,240	2.4%	142%	101,312	1.0%	33%
8	10	Infiniti	234,854	2.3%	-5%	246,492	2.5%	7%
10	11	Acura	195,000	1.9%	0%	195,000	2.0%	1%
11	12	Lincoln	176,300	1.7%	-6%	188,383	1.9%	13%
12	13	Alfa Romeo	119,190	1.2%	9%	108,931	1.1%	53%
		Total	10,151,520		2%	9,931,838		6%