Five months into its new no-haggle ‘agency’ business model, Mercedes-Benz Australia (excluding vans) has retained its status as Australia’s favourite luxury car brand.

But the gap has narrowed slightly, with arch rival BMW seeing its sales decline at a slower rate.

Meantime, number three brand Audi has its work cut out to keep a growing Volvo and ever-charging Tesla at bay, as it battles through particularly painful stock shortages.

Interestingly, the top three luxury players have all seen their sales decline at a much greater rate than the total new vehicle market, which is down 4.1 per cent so far this year.

Mid-table contender Lexus has slid back in the pecking order this year as it too struggles with stock, having sat narrowly ahead of Volvo at this point in 2021.

Porsche, like Volvo, bucked the trend over the first few months by posting sales growth, unlike Land Rover behind it, while upstart EV contender Polestar has started pretty well: the Chinese-Swedish brand has outsold both Genesis and Jaguar.

Italian pair Alfa Romeo and Maserati bring up the rear, with both brands hanging out for core new products (the Tonale and Grecale SUVs respectively) due over the next 12 months.

Australia’s luxury brand sales, January to May 2022

It’s interesting to look at some key vehicle segments, to see which brands are strong and where.

Premium small cars

1. Mercedes-Benz A-Class – 1146 sales
2. BMW 1 Series – 545
3. BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe – 412
4. Audi A3 – 362
5. Nissan Leaf – 199

Premium medium cars

1. Tesla Model 3 – 4481 sales
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class – 1280
3. BMW 3 Series – 1261
4. Mercedes-Benz CLA – 692
5. Lexus ES – 398

Premium large cars

1. Porsche Taycan – 260 sales
2. BMW 5 Series – 172
3. Mercedes-Benz E-Class – 126
4. Audi A6 – 94
5. Maserati Ghibli – 48

Sports cars

1. BMW 4 Series – 388 sales
2. Mercedes-Benz C-Class two-door – 238
3. Porsche 911 – 209

Premium small SUVs

1. Volvo XC40 – 2269 sales
2. Mercedes-Benz GLA – 1307
3. Audi Q3 – 1247
4. BMW X1 – 1176
5. Lexus UX – 475

Premium medium SUVs

1. Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV and coupe – 2513 sales
2. BMW X3 and X4 – 2413
3. Volvo XC60 – 1707
4. Audi Q5 – 1494
5. Lexus NX – 1461

Premium large SUVs

• BMW X5 and X6 – 1556
• Mercedes-Benz GLE SUV and coupe – 1109
• Lexus RX – 778
• Range Rover Sport – 661
• Land Rover Defender – 619

Premium extra large SUVs

1. BMW X7 – 406
2. Mercedes-Benz GLS – 272
3. Mercedes-Benz G-Class – 172
4. Lexus LX – 151
5. Audi Q8 – 114