Mercedes-Benz saw sales surge 11 percent in January, giving them the lead over BMW in U.S. luxury auto sales for the year.
In January, Mercedes delivered 22,501 vehicles, its best January to date. Boosting their sales was the C-Class sedan, which rose 11 percent to 7,214 vehicles sold.
As for BMW, vehicles sales increased 0.7 percent to 16,513 vehicles, boosted mainly by a 56 percent gain for its X5 sport-utility vehicle. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus rose 32 percent to 16,211, led by the ES sedan, which more than doubled to 5,186 deliveries.
Mercedes-Benz and BMW are both fighting against each other to be the top luxury auto brand in the U.S., less concerned with Lexus after outselling them the past two years. In 2012, Mercedes led in sales at the end of November, but with a late December sales surge, BMW took its second consecutive U.S. luxury crown. Lexus was the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. for 11 years until natural disasters in Asia curtailed production in 2011.
“We’ve set another record this January and are breaking into 2013 at a strong sales pace,” Steve Cannon, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, said in a statement.
The sales results don’t include Daimler’s cargo vans and Smart cars and BMW’s Mini brand, which aren’t luxury vehicles.
Source: Autonews
