Full-Size SUV May Sales: Chevy Tahoe Leads and Ford Expedition Improves the Most

2016 chevy tahoe chevrolet
2016 Chevy Tahoe

Traditional full-size body-on-frame SUVs are alive an well. Chevrolet’s Tahoe still has a strong lead over the rest of the field. It grew 4.4% in May 2016 over last year and sold 7,430 units. The Tahoe has a lot in common with the Silverado pickup truck in terms of the frame, suspension components, engines, and transmissions. This makes it a competent towing machine as we confirmed by testing its GMC cousins, the Yukon and Yukon XL.

Ford’s Expedition is in second place and it is best improved in sales for the month of May. It grew 21.9% and sits firmly in second place. It now relies on EcoBoost V6 power, which provides ample acceleration and towing performance.

Full-size SUVs – May 2016 Sales Chart

May 2016 # May ’16 / ’15 % YTD 2016 # YTD ’16 / ’15 %
Chevy Tahoe 7,430 4.4% 35,330  -1.6%
Ford Expedition 5,057 21.9% 20,251 20.3%
Chevy Suburban 3,997  -8.6% 18,945  -7.1%
GMC Yukon 3,747 8.5% 16,056 9.1%
GMC Yukon XL 2,384 -5.2% 11,604 5.2%
Toyota Sequoia 1,126  -1.7% 5,303 7.2%
Nissan Armada 794  -46.6% 4,497 -24.7%

 

The high-end truck-based luxury SUVs are not going away either. They show positive Year-To-Date sales growth across the board. The Cadillac Escalade is leading the pack with 1,856 units sold in May. The Infiniti QX80 is in second place and it is the best improved for the month. GM splits out the Escalade and Escalade ESV sales separately. If you considered them together, the Escalade has what appears to be an unsurmountable lead over the competition.

Luxury SUVs – May 2016 Sales Chart

May 2016 # May ’16 / ’15 % YTD 2016 # YTD ’16 / ’15 %
Cadillac Escalade 1,856 14.8% 8,685 3.5%
Infiniti QX80 1,424 34.6% 6,519 3.0%
Cadillac Escalade ESV 1,126 -1.7% 5,303 7.2%
Lincoln Navigator 851 -18.6% 4,879 0.8%
Toyota Land Cruiser 315 31.3% 1,457 28.6%
Lexus LX 293 -2.0% 2,271 57.3%

Check out the Escalade take on the Ike Gauntlet extreme towing test.