Tag Archives: Acura

BMW Wins U.S. Luxury Sales Crown By Less Than 4,000 Units

2020 was a year most automakers would like to forget and that’s especially true in the luxury segment as every single brand posted a decline in U.S. sales.

However, the luxury sales crown is a closely watched contest and only a few thousand units separated BMW, Mercedes and Lexus last year.

BMW took top honors as they sold 278,732 vehicles in the United States. That’s a drop of 17.5%, but it’s worth noting the automaker was fined $18 (£13.3 / €14.7) million by the Securities and Exchange Commission for inflating their sales between 2015 and 2019.

Also Read: 2020 Was Brutal For Automakers As Many Post Decline In Sales

Second place went to Lexus which sold 275,041 vehicles last year. That’s a decline of 7.7% and the drop can be partly attributed to weak sales of the ES and RX.

Rounding out the podium is Mercedes. They sold 274,916 passengers vehicles – excluding vans – for a drop of 13.0%. C-Class sales plummeted 46.5% for the year, while sales of the E-Class / CLS and S-Class were both off by more than 30%.

Over at Audi, sales dropped 17% to 186,620 units. Their big losers were the A4, A6 and A7 which all saw declines of between 31-42%. On the bright side, Q3 sales skyrocketed 84% for the year.

Acura came in fifth place with sales of 136,983 units. That’s a decline of 13.5% and that can be chalked up to weaker demand for the outgoing TLX and MDX.  However, both models are new for 2021.

The final two spots go to Cadillac and Lincoln. Cadillac sales were down 17.1% to 129,495 units, while Lincoln sales were off 6.1% at 105,410 units.

Lincoln sales will likely drop again this year as the brand has axed the MKZ and Continental. While they were Lincoln’s slowest selling vehicles, aside from the MKT, they still contributed 17,780 units to the bottom line last year.

Lastly, Infiniti sales were down 32.5% to 79,502 units. The drop was largely due to a decline in Q50 and QX60 sales which were off 36.4% and 47.0%, respectively.

GM Will Reportedly Build Honda EV In Mexico, Acura EV In Tennessee

General Motors is set to build a Honda EV and an Acura EV in its Mexico and Tennessee plants respectively.

According to individuals with knowledge of the plans, the all-electric Honda in question will take the shape of a crossover and be built in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, the same location where the Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox are produced. Meanwhile, GM will handle production of an electric Acura crossover at its factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee, the same location where the electric Cadillac Lyriq will be built.

It is understood that both the Honda and the Acura EVs will be similar in size to the Lyriq.

Read Also: Acura Says It Has No Plans To Build A New MDX Hybrid

GM’s EV platform

Both the Honda and Acura are set to use GM’s Ultium batteries that have been rated at up to 450 miles of range, Auto News reports. Neither GM nor Honda would comment on the report.

The two automakers announced an agreement to jointly develop two Ultium-powered electric vehicles back in April 2020. In that announcement, the companies confirmed that the Honda and Acura EVs would feature exteriors and interiors designed exclusively by Honda while using GM’s global EV platform.

“This collaboration will put together the strength of both companies, while combined scale and manufacturing efficiencies will ultimately provide greater value to customers,” executive vice president of American Honda Motor Rick Schostek said at the time. “This expanded partnership will unlock economies of scale to accelerate our electrification roadmap and advance our industry-leading efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Sales of the Honda and Acura EVs are expected to begin for the 2024 model year in the U.S. and Canadian markets.