The Cadillac Escalade has reclaimed its status as America's preferred flagship SUV.

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      With 2025 wrapped up, the Cadillac Escalade has once again taken the crown as America’s leading large luxury SUV, outperforming all competitors in a marketplace that primarily caters to the U.S. The Escalade has once more outperformed the Lincoln Navigator and regained its position over the rising Jeep Wagoneer, becoming the top luxury SUV brand in America for 2025.

      It’s no surprise that the list of best-selling three-row SUVs in America is heavily led by domestic brands, with most of this dominance coming from the higher-volume segments. The Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Ford Expedition dominate the top three slots in the 2025 rankings. The Chevy Suburban (essentially a longer Tahoe) ranks fourth, followed by Cadillac’s flagship. With 49,366 units sold, it even surpassed both the Toyota Sequoia and the Nissan Armada, despite Cadillac operating at a significantly higher price range. Don’t even ask about the Infiniti QX80.

      Although Cadillac has maintained a stronghold in this market for decades, its lead in sales is not guaranteed. In 2024, Jeep surprised everyone by pushing the Escalade out of the top spot, achieving over 55,000 combined sales of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer compared to Cadillac’s 42,000. Unfortunately for Jeep, their dealers were unable to replicate that success in 2025, even after merging the models into one. The combined sales of the Wagoneer fell nearly 20% in 2025, while Escalade sales increased by an even larger amount.

      What does the future hold for the large SUV market in 2026? With Jeep in the final stages of rolling out a new (and lower) pricing strategy, Wagoneer sales might see a boost in 2026. However, considering the financial losses Stellantis has faced in recent years, it would be imprudent to expect the company’s U.S. brands to offer significant discounts on their most profitable models, which could hinder Jeep's ability to compete on volume. Meanwhile, the Escalade only needs to continue being the Escalade—a favorable position for Cadillac.

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