Mercedes leads BMW in U.S. luxury sales after 24% April gain
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SOUTHFIELD, Michigan (Bloomberg) -- Mercedes-Benz regained the U.S. luxury-vehicle sales lead for the year over the BMW brand with April deliveries rising 24 percent, the biggest gain of any premium brand.
U.S. sales of Mercedes vehicles rose to 22,336 last month, while BMW deliveries increased 12 percent to 21,062, according to statements on Tuesday by the companies. Toyota's Lexus brand, the top luxury seller for 11 years through 2010, slipped 0.1 percent to 17,551.
Mercedes and BMW, which overtook Lexus last year to become the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S., are competing for the 2012 sales crown. BMW finished the first quarter with 36 vehicle lead over Mercedes. April results lifted Mercedes sales for the year 17 percent to 83,849, giving the automaker a 1,238 vehicle lead after four months over BMW, which had a sales increase of 16 percent. Lexus deliveries rose 2.6 percent to 66,647 during the first four months of the year.
"I don't see one of them pulling ahead dramatically," said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with TrueCar.com, a Web site that tracks auto sales. "You're going to see this back-and-forth for the rest of the year."
The results exclude Daimler's Sprinter vans and Smart cars and BMW's Mini brand, which aren't luxury vehicles. Mercedes sales were helped by deliveries of the updated C-class sedan, up 23 percent, and M-class sport-utility vehicle, up 54 percent, the automaker said in a statement.
Global fight
The BMW and Mercedes sales race extends beyond the U.S. borders. The two are locked in a global battle along with the Audi luxury brand. Audi deliveries rose 15 percent in the U.S. last month to 11,521, the 16th consecutive month of record sales, the premium brand said in a statement.
After four months, Audi's sales this year rose 16 percent to 40,991, pushing it past General Motors Co.'s Cadillac brand at 40,817. Cadillac fell 25 percent to 9,851 in April as the luxury brand suffered from the elimination of old models before new ones reach dealers later this year.
Acura, Porsche, Infiniti
Honda said in a statement that sales for its Acura brand rose 4.9 percent to 12,175 last month. Porsche, the sports car maker, sold 3,437 vehicles in the U.S., an 8.4 percent increase, the company said in a statement.
Nissan's Infiniti sold 7,129 vehicles, a 5.4 percent gain from a year earlier, the Japan-based company, said in a statement. Ford Motor Co. sold 6,308 Lincolns in April, a 13 percent decline from a year earlier, according to a statement from the automaker.
Land Rover deliveries rose 10 percent to 3,292, while Jaguar sales declined 14 percent to 1,073, the UK brands, owned by Mumbai-based Tata Motors, said in an e-mail.
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