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Lincoln Nautilus Sales Place Ninth Out Of Ten Rivals During Q2 2021

Lincoln Nautilus sales increased in the United States, Canada, and Mexico during the second quarter of 2021.

Lincoln Nautilus Sales - Q2 2021 - United States

In the United States, Lincoln Nautilus deliveries totaled 6,055 units in Q2 2021, an increase of about 20 percent compared to 5,036 units sold in Q2 2020.

In the first six months of the year, Nautilus sales increased about 11 percent to 11,427 units.
MODEL Q2 2021 / Q2 2020 Q2 2021 Q2 2020YTD 2021 / YTD 2020 YTD 2021 YTD 2020
NAUTILUS +20.23% 6,055 5,036 +11.15% 11,427 10,281

Lincoln Nautilus Sales - Q2 2021 - Canada

In Canada, Lincoln Nautilus deliveries totaled 564 units in Q2 2021, an increase of about 60 percent compared to 353 units sold in Q2 2020.

In the first six months of the year, Nautilus sales increased about 30 percent to 860 units.
MODEL Q2 2021 / Q2 2020 Q2 2021 Q2 2020YTD 2021 / YTD 2020 YTD 2021 YTD 2020
NAUTILUS +59.77% 564 353 +29.71% 860 663

Lincoln Nautilus Sales - Q2 2021 - Mexico

In Mexico, Lincoln Nautilus deliveries totaled 36 units in Q2 2021, an increase of about 300 percent compared to 9 units sold in Q2 2020.

In the first six months of the year, Nautilus sales decreased about 3 percent to 56 units.
MODEL Q2 2021 / Q2 2020 Q2 2021 Q2 2020YTD 2021 / YTD 2020 YTD 2021 YTD 2020
NAUTILUS +300.00% 36 9 -3.45% 56 58

Competitive Sales Comparison (USA)

Despite the 20 percent increase in U.S. sales volume, the Lincoln Nautilus remains in ninth place out of ten rivals in its competitive set during Q2 2021. The Lexus RX led the segment in first place, followed by BMW with 23,954 cumulative deliveries of the X3 and X4 in second, the Acura MDX in third, and the Audi Q5 in fourth. The Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class took fifth, Volvo XC60 placed sixth, the Cadillac XT5 took seventh (see running Cadillac XT5 sales), and Infiniti QX50 took eighth. The Nautilus took ninth while the Alfa Romeo Stelvio took tenth (and last) place.

Notably, all ten models in the segment posted an increase in sales volume during Q2 2021, with the Audi Q5 and BMW X3 seeing the largest jumps of 133 and 125 percent, respectively.

Sales Numbers - D-Segment Luxury Crossovers - Q2 2021 - USA

MODEL Q2 21 / Q2 20 Q2 21 Q2 20 Q2 21 SHARE Q2 20 SHARE YTD 21 / YTD 20 YTD 21 YTD 20
LEXUS RX +79.78% 28,703 15,966 20% 21% +53.87% 56,644 36,813
BMW X3 +125.00% 21,285 9,460 15% 12% +80.70% 36,273 20,074
BMW X4 +94.39% 2,669 1,373 2% 2% +37.65% 4,351 3,161
ACURA MDX +119.23% 19,803 9,033 14% 12% +104.69% 36,791 17,974
AUDI Q5 +133.34% 18,835 8,072 13% 10% +86.16% 33,566 18,031
MERCEDES-BENZ GLC-CLASS +54.11% 14,580 9,461 10% 12% +33.64% 30,149 22,560
VOLVO XC60 +91.21% 12,702 6,643 9% 9% +68.62% 20,592 12,212
CADILLAC XT5 +82.83% 10,573 5,783 7% 7% +30.66% 19,346 14,806
INFINITI QX50 +49.50% 7,324 4,899 5% 6% +51.60% 13,749 9,069
LINCOLN NAUTILUS +20.23% 6,055 5,036 4% 6% +11.15% 11,427 10,281
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO +37.66% 2,756 2,002 2% 3% +35.71% 5,313 3,915
TOTAL +86.91% 145,285 77,728 +58.80% 268,201 168,896

The results give the Nautilus a four percent share, down from six percent in the year-ago quarter. The performance is substantially lower than the 20 and 17 percent held by the segment-leading Lexus RX and BMW X3/X4.

The luxury D-crossover segment expanded nearly 87 percent to 145,285 units during Q2 2021, meaning Lincoln Nautilus sales significantly underperformed the segment average during the quarter. In fact, Nautilus sales grew the least (on a percentage basis) out of all models during the quarter.

We should note that Lexus RX sales now include the two-row RX and the three-row RX L, with the three-row RX L being a rival to the new Lincoln Aviator. As such, a more apt comparison would be to pit Nautilus and Aviator sales against those of the RX.

Sales Numbers - Lexus RX Family vs. Lincoln Nautilus & Aviator - Q2 2021 - USA

MODEL Q2 21 / Q2 20 Q2 21 Q2 20 Q2 21 SHARE Q2 20 SHARE YTD 21 / YTD 20 YTD 21 YTD 20
LEXUS RX +79.78% 28,703 15,966 71% 64% +53.87% 56,644 36,813
LINCOLN NAUTILUS +20.23% 6,055 5,036 15% 20% +11.15% 11,427 10,281
LINCOLN AVIATOR +43.68% 5,770 4,016 14% 16% +22.45% 11,856 9,682
TOTAL +62.00% 40,528 25,018 +40.78% 79,927 56,776

Adding Nautilus and Aviator sales nets Lincoln 11,825 combined deliveries in Q2 2021, or 16,878 units less than the two Lexus RX variants.

The Ford Authority Take

The slight rebound in Lincoln Nautilus sales during Q2 2021 is great news following a lower two percent increase in Q1 2021, itself preceded by a substantial drop in Q4 2020. As such, it would appear that the Nautilus is struggling to keep up with the segment leaders. Potential factors that may contribute to the circumstance include:

  1. Sub-par Nautilus inventory at the retail (dealer) level.
  2. More desirable product offerings from competitors, including substantially newer offerings from Infiniti, BMW and Acura.
  3. More favorable purchase and/or lease incentives offered by competitors, including higher residual values for lease customers.

The 2021 Lincoln Nautilus delivers several updates in key areas, including an overhauled cockpit (interior) with a new infotainment system. The refreshed Nautilus began arriving at dealerships at the end of March, and it will be interesting to see how much of an impact the updated model has on driving interest and purchase consideration in the second half of 2021.

About The Numbers

  • All percent change figures compared to Lincoln Nautilus and MKX sales for Q2 2020
  • In the United States, there were 77 selling days in Q2 2021 and 77 selling days in Q2 2020
  • South Korea sales figures reflect actual vehicle registrations rather than wholesales
Ford Motor Company Q2 2021 sales reports:

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