The Breakdown:
- Acura was the only US luxury brand that saw sales increase in the first quarter.
- Acura sales are up 5.2 percent, with 32,352 cars sold.
- The Japanese brand is currently the fourth best-selling luxury brand, jumping ahead of Cadillac.
The first three months of the year were not great for luxury car sales in the United States. BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes, the top three sellers, all saw their sales decline, but it was not a bad quarter for this Japanese brand.
Acura sales increased 5.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026, with the brand selling 32,352 cars compared to 30,766 for the same period in 2025. They were driven by the Integra and MDX, which saw sales increase by 25.6 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
ADX sales were up a whopping 4,318 percent, but that’s because Acura only sold 178 crossovers in the first quarter of 2025, which is when it first went on sale. The company has sold 7,864 ADXs so far this year.
Acura is currently the fourth best-selling luxury brand in the United States, jumping ahead of Cadillac, which saw its sales fall 25.5 percent.
The Luxury Leaders
BMW continues to outsell the rest of the competition, with 84,231 vehicles sold so far this year, down 3.9 percent. The brand’s passenger cars took a big hit, falling 17.3 percent, while crossover and SUV sales increased by 9.5 percent,
Lexus was a close second at 80,952, down 2.5 percent. Like BMW, the automaker’s car sales fell by 43 percent while Lexus’ SUV sales increased by 6.7 percent, with the RX, TX, and LX gaining. Mercedes reported sales falling 3.0 percent in the first quarter to 70,000.
- BMW — 84,231 Units
- Lexus — 80,952 Units
- Mercedes-Benz — 70,000 Units
- Acura — 32,352 Units
Everyone Else
Cadillac sold 31,098 cars last quarter, down from 41,757 in 2025. Audi saw its sales fall by a whopping 30 percent, selling just 29,886 vehicles in three months. Every single Audi crossover and SUV saw sales fall, especially the electric variants. Sales for the A3, A5, and A6 increased 1.0 percent, 6.0 percent, and 9.0 percent, respectively.
Volvo is another automaker that saw a precipitous decline, down 32 percent. The automaker sold just 22,651 vehicles, 1,000 fewer than Lincoln, which sold 23,610. Sales for Ford’s luxury brand were down just 0.5 percent.
Infiniti sold just 12,750 vehicles from January to March, down 3.2 percent. The QX60 is the brand’s best-selling model by a wide margin, accounting for about 75 percent of the brand’s sales.
- Cadillac — 31,098 Units
- Audi — 29,886 Units
- Lincoln — 23,610 Units
- Volvo — 22,651 Units
- Infiniti — 12,750 2025 Units
Motor1’s Take: Several luxury brands assemble the majority of their vehicles outside the United States and have had to raise prices due to last year’s tariffs, like Audi. This is affecting sales, and it might prompt some brands to move production to America.
