The Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch Luxury Report is out for the third quarter of 2022 and continues to show BMW at the top of the rankings. Not only that, but the German luxury marque has slightly widened its lead by 1%, with 22% of people shopping for a luxury car considering a model from Munich. In addition, the company has three of the top 10 most-shopped luxury vehicles: 3 Series, 5 Series, and the X5, with the latter rejoining the top.

If you’re wondering how KBB conducts the analysis, the Brand Watch Luxury Report is essentially a consumer perception survey that also takes into account consumer shopping behavior. Since the first quarter of this year, the methodology has been updated to include mobile users as well, not just people using their desktop computers.

KBB Brand Watch Survey Q3 2022 / https://www.coxautoinc.com/

In Q3 2022, Tesla fell from fifth to sixth place as only 12% of luxury car shoppers considered a model from the company, representing a decline of 3%. That’s the biggest drop among all brands from one quarter to the next. In addition, the Model Y is no longer included in the top 10 most-shopped luxury vehicles for the first time in two years while shopping consideration for the Model 3 diminished by 10% compared to Q2 2022.

Aside from Tesla, the other brands that were less considered by luxury car buyers were Lucid, Lincoln, and Jaguar. Trailing behind BMW were Lexus and Cadillac, with both at 17 percent, or five percentage points less than the Bavarian brand.

As for the top 10 models considered, KBB says the Cadillac Escalade reigns supreme:

  1. Cadillac Escalade;
  2. Buick Enclave;
  3. Tesla Model 3;
  4. BMW 3 Series;
  5. Acura MDX;
  6. Buick Encore;
  7. BMW 5 Series;
  8. Lexus RX;
  9. Cadillac CT5;
  10. BMW X5.

To no one’s surprise, the SUV remained the most popular body style among luxury car shoppers as 67% said they were interested in getting a sports utility vehicle. The top 10 above reflects this strong interest taking into account six of the models are SUVs.

Source: Cox Automotive