Cadillac announced this week that it had its best Escalade sales last year since 2007, more than enough to maintain Escalade’s position atop the pile of full-size luxury SUVs, in a competitive landscape that includes the Lincoln Navigator and Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer.

To a lesser extent, the Escalade also does battle with cars like the BMW X7, the Lexus LX, Mercedes GLS, and Range Rover, though, considering only American full-size luxury SUVs—as many buyers in the segment do—Escalade is well on top.

Lincoln sold 19,393 Navigators last year, according to GoodCarBadCar, while Jeep sold 4,458 Grand Wagoneers, in addition to 34,376 Wagoneers, though the Jeeps start at much lower price points. With combined Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer sales, Jeep actually outsold Escalades in 2024, though it’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison, since Jeep isn’t really luxury and Cadillacs aren’t meant for anything but pavement.

The Escalade is now in its fifth generation, having debuted in 1998. Cadillac’s launch of the Escalade was prompted by Lincoln’s launch of the Navigator, though the Escalade has consistently outsold the Navigator in the years since and also has become a cultural icon in the process. The Escalade is now, in many ways, bigger than Cadillac itself, and GM has thought about making Escalade a sub-brand of the luxury marque, in the same way that Corvette is for Chevy.

The Escalade and Navigator are also almost purely expressions of the American market, in that no other car market outside of China buys full-size luxury SUVs in great numbers. Europe has long had a preference for station wagons and smaller SUVs, even in recent years with bigger SUVs gaining there. South America, Japan, Australia, and other markets largely prefer smaller or non-luxury cars and trucks.

It’s fitting, then, that America’s preeminent luxury brand is now really just a full-size luxury SUV brand, with the Escalade IQ a plush behemoth of an EV that is meant to take the Escalade into the electric age. Cadillac has also, recently, tried to remake itself into an ultra-luxury brand with the $340,000 Celestiq, which may or may not work out for them. If it doesn’t, Escalade will still be there.