Luxury SUV sees sales growth during first five months

Sales of luxury SUVs have surged by 54 per cent in the first five months of this year, figures released by industry statistician Vfacts revealed.Luxury brands have sold more SUVs than cars this year, thanks largely to a rush of new models in the most popular segments.

Prestige sedan sales have remained static this year but overall luxury sales are up by 23 per cent. That compares with modest growth in the wider market of less than 4 per cent.

Prestige brands are also growing in popularity among SUV buyers — one in six opts for a top-end brand.BMW is the most popular choice among luxury SUV buyers, followed by Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

The most popular model is Benz’s GLC mid-sized softroader, based on the C-Class and launched late last year as an instant hit.Filling out the minor placings are BMW’s family favourite X5 and Land Rover’s Discovery Sport, which replaced the Freelander this time last year.

Fuel bills and parking worries don’t concern the very top end of town, where land yachts costing more than $100,000 are experiencing a renaissance.Medium SUVs, the fastest growing segment, posted sales growth of 75 per cent over the same period last year. BMW’s X3 and X4 are doing big numbers, while the likes of Lexus’s NX, Porsche’s Macan and Volvo’s XC60 also enjoy success.

Small SUV sales have grown 57 per cent, largely because of the new X1, which has almost tripled sales since its launch last year. The Mercedes GLA and Audi Q3 are performing strongly.