Refreshed Acura TLX NY-Bound

Acura will unveil a refreshed TLX sedan at next month’s New York auto show, as the brand hopes better days are ahead for U.S. luxury sedans.

The ’18 TLX will receive “new styling elements that ratchet up its emotion” and are reflective of Acura’s new design language seen on the Precision concept car at the 2016 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Honda luxury brand says in a statement.

Acura also promises “new premium features and technology enhancements” for the TLX, which debuted in the U.S. in late 2014 as a ’15 model, replacing Acura’s successful TSX and TL 4-doors.

It may not be the best of times to launch a new luxury sedan, given sales in the TLX’s segment, WardsAuto’s Lower Luxury Car group, fell 9.1% in the U.S. last year and were down 14.4% through February.

But Acura is hoping the worst is over.

“Our belief right now is that last year’s drop was pretty much ‘the drop’ and that things are fairly stable this year,” Gary Robinson, manager-Acura product planning, tells WardsAuto at an MDX Hybrid media event in Seattle.

Robinson sees CUVs having an impact on midsize luxury sedans, specifically among first-time luxury buyers who in the past would have purchased a car, not a CUV. He also speculates certified pre-owned luxury sedans are hurting sales of new premium 4-doors as a flood of models comes off-lease.

Five years ago the TSX and TL were strong sellers for Acura, traditionally doing more than 50,000 in annual volume. Ten years ago, the duo tickled the 100,000 mark.

Robinson doesn’t believe TLX sales can achieve the latter number, but says the first target is within reach.

“We don’t think (50,000 annual volume is) impossible,” he says. “We think we have a really good, loyal base of customers who want to buy an Acura sedan.”

TLX sales came close to 50,000 in 2015, tallying 47,080, but slipped 9.1% last year to 37,156 and through February declined 19.0% vs. like-2016.

The ’18 TLX was designed at Acura’s Torrance, CA, studio. The model will continue to be built at Honda’s Marysville, OH, assembly plant.

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