Acura U.S. Sales Figures Suggest A Dim Future For Japanese Luxury And Sports Sedans

Acura, as a brand, is the perfect mashup between premium amenities and performance, which positions it in a nice place to take on brands like Lexus. However, Acura has seen an unexpected worsening slowdown in U.S. sales in 2024 of 12.5 percent, and while there are a couple of heroes in the lineup, one could say that the current situation brings Acura’s trajectory into question. Is the Acura sedan as we know it living on borrowed time? Let’s look at the numbers, then talk more about it.

Acura’s Total Sales And The Biggest Losers

Across the first four months of 2024, Acura managed to move a total of 40,917 vehicles, with a split of 12,099 being cars and the remaining 28,817 being SUVs, creating a total decrease of 12.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Car sales alone fell a staggering 26.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

Acura Total Sales For April

Acura Sales To Date

All in all, Acura’s car sales are tanking hard. The Acura TLX is having yet another rough year with only 3,201 examples being sold so far – a decrease of 40.2 percent. In April alone, only 571 examples we sold, representing a decrease of a little over 62% compared to April of 2023. The Acura Integra is also down 26.1 percent compared to April last year, with 2,413 examples being sold. To date, Acura has managed to push just 8,898 examples of the Integra, a 20.6% decrease from the 11,100 sold in the same period of 2023.

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Acura’s Biggest Winners Are SUVs

As of the time of this writing, Acura only sells two SUVS: The MDX and RDX. The Acura MDX is still the brand’s best-selling model by far, with some 4,101 examples sold in April of 2024 and more than 15,000 sold in the first four months of the year. It, however, is still seeing a decrease in sales of 28.8 percent compared to April of 2023. What’s particularly interesting about the sales decline for the MDX is that the fourth-generation model was launched back in 2022, so the current model isn’t really dated in terms of technology or styling. The 2025 Acura MDX will also bring more welcome changes, which could turn these sales figures around.

The Acura RDX, is, quite literally, the only model in Acura’s lineup that has seen an increase in sales not only in April but for the year so far. For the month of April, Acura managed to move 3,459 examples of the RDX, signaling a 34.4-percent increase compared to April of 2023. Year to date, the RDX is up 44.7 percent, with 13,576 models sold. Unlike the MDX, the current-generation RDX has been on the market for some time, with the third-gen model launched back in 2019, though there was a facelift done for the 2022 model year that brought its styling and tech more in line with Acura’s newer models.

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What Acura’s Sales Figures Tell Us

As someone that’s driven a lot of Acuras over the years, with one of my favorite being the 90s-era Acura Legend coupe, I can say with confidence that there’s nothing inherently wrong with Acura’s product. Materials and build quality are top notch (and have only gotten better over the years), and reliability has never been an issue. Even Repair Pal gives the Acura brand a 4-star, above average reliability rating. Acura is also No. 4 on Consumer Reports’ list of predicted brand reliability for 2024. Acura, in general, even starts out a bit cheaper than its main rival Lexus, has similar technology, and similar premium materials, so what gives?

I’m under the impression that Acura’s stance on sedans is a bit antiquated at this point. We’ve already seen a lot of mainstream brands killing them off. Ford sells none, Chevy only has the Malibu, and even parent company Honda’s sedan lineup is very thin with just the Civic and Accord filling what seems to be a quickly closing void these days. Even Honda is struggling with sedan sales, with the Accord being down 35.7 percent in April versus April of 2023 and down some 12.5% for the year.

The industry has been shifting away from cars and toward SUVs for a long time, so the data we’ve presented here isn’t surprising. Hatchbacks might serve a safe middle ground for now, but not even that’s working for the Acura Integra. I wouldn’t be surprised if Acura changed its whole lineup over the next 5-6 years. I’d expect to see more SUVs and even fewer sedans, if any.

Source: Acura