Across most of the full-size SUV field, sales picked up in the third quarter.
There’s been quite a bit of shuffling going on in the full-size SUV field. Both General Motors and Ford are bringing their best, with substantial updates for their respective models driving up sales. You certainly see that with GM, where third quarter sales picked up between 21.5% and 40.5% for Chevrolet and GMC’s full-size offerings. The Ford Expedition also fared well, with its sales picking up by 12.4% over the past quarter.
While GM may be well ahead of the competition at the moment, it’s definitely not the appropriate time for the automaker to rest on its laurels. The Expedition (whose sales include the long wheelbase “Max” version) is hot on the heels of the GMC Yukon. Not only that, but the whole segment faces new competition from the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.
In its first set of third quarter sales figures, Jeep’s brand-new Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer offerings have already pulled within overtaking distance of the Expedition and Navigator, respectively.
There’s one huge bit of weirdness going on with the sales reports this time around, and I’ll get to that in a moment. But first, the figures in the third quarter 2022 sales report:
U.S. Full-size SUVs: Q3 2022 sales
| Model | Q3 2022 sales | Q3 2021 sales | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chevy Tahoe | 29,585 | 24,202 | +22.2% |
| GMC Yukon | 21,178 | 17,428 | +21.5% |
| Chevy Suburban | 13,585 | 9,667 | +40.5% |
| Cadillac Escalade | 9,953 | 10,125 | -1.7% |
| Ford Expedition | 18,760 | 16,696 | +12.4% |
| Jeep Wagoneer | 13,001 | — | New |
| Jeep Grand Wagoneer | 2,353 | — | New |
| Lincoln Navigator | 3,100 | 3,019 | +2.7% |
| Nissan Armada | 4,089 | 3,790 | +7.9% |
| Infiniti QX80 | 1,786 | 2,043 | -12.6% |
| Lexus LX | 912 | 513 | +75.7% |
| Toyota Sequoia | 12 | 1,734 | -99.9% |
| Toyota Land Cruiser | 5 | 115 | -96.7% |
Wait, what’s going on with Toyota?
Outside the big three, there’s also been some shuffling as people shop around the full-size SUV market. The Nissan Armada picked up some momentum, improving by 7.9% over the third quarter of 2021. It’s luxury-minded sibling, the Infiniti QX80, isn’t quite so fortunate. Its sales dropped off by 12.6% in the same time period, and I’m curious to know how the 2023 model’s recent price hike will impact those figures over the coming months.
But, of course, we have to talk about Toyota. The Sequoia gained a reputation as a solid seller (if an aging one) over the past several years. Since then, though, sales dropped off a cliff — almost to nil. Why?
Well, if you’ve been closely following the redesigned 2023 Toyota Sequoia, you likely already know the answer. The automaker shifted production from Princeton, Indiana to San Antonio, Texas for this generation, where it’s now built alongside the full-size Tundra pickup. As such, there’s been a gap between winding down old production and ramping up this overhauled model, where dealers haven’t had new Sequoias to sell. Toyota just kicked off production late last month, so these SUVs should be hitting dealers en masse in the coming weeks.
Sadly, the much-loved Land Cruiser is only going to go down from the whopping 5 units Toyota shifted last quarter. The 200 Series bowed out of our market, and we are not getting the new 300 Series here in North America to replace it. That said, we are getting its more luxurious Lexus LX 600 counterpart. And some folks are indeed going that route, as LX sales picked up by 75.7% in the third quarter. The actual number of SUVs the luxury brand shifts remains small, but keep in mind that this Lexus leviathan starts at $88,245.
