Luxury vehicle growing interest in luxury vehicles from emerging markets such as China and Russia. The entry-level luxury segment has been very competitive, and there has been price-overlapping with well-equipped non-luxury cars. For example, in Canada, several luxury manufacturers set sales records in August 2009, due mostly to aggressive incentives on entry-level luxury vehicles. In September 2009, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Audi all saw their Canadian sales increase by more than 10 per cent compared to a year earlier, despite overall Canadian auto sales being down 3.5 per cent compared to September 2008. The head of Mercedes-Benz Canada suggested that the brand
Luxury vehicle is known as the compact executive car in Britain where it specifies both the price range and vehicle dimensions. In the U.S., there is a broader category called entry-level luxury, which includes the bottom vehicles in the line-up of luxury brands as well as the top-of-the-line models of some non-luxury brands. Dimensionally, compact executive cars are smaller than mid-size cars and sometimes even smaller than compact/small family cars. Mass market compact cars typically use the economical front wheel drive transverse engine layout, well suited to the inline-4 engine, which also maximizes interior room. Most compact executive cars are rear-wheel drive