The BMW brand is on a pace to become the top-selling luxury auto brand in the U.S. this year, but it will probably be outsold by Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz early next year, a top executive said. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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Updated C-class compact Mercedes models will go on sale later this year and probably make that brand the top seller in the first quarter while BMW is still selling older 3-series models, said Jim O’Donnell, head of BMW U.S. operations.
As a result, Mercedes may lead in deliveries for a few months, he said. “In the first quarter of next year, I would say Mercedes” will be No. 1, he added.
“Mercedes going into 2012 in the first quarter will be in a strong position. Over the course of the year, we still should be ahead of Mercedes.”
The new 3 series, which reaches dealers in April, will help produce a BMW-brand increase of 12 percent to 15 percent next year, he said.
BMW’s U.S. sales rose 13 percent to 135,114 through July, placing it 5,182 vehicles ahead of Mercedes. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus brand deliveries fell 19 percent to 102,549 through July as the automaker copes with inventory constraints from the March earthquake and tsunami. Lexus has been the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. for the past 11 years.
The results exclude Daimler’s Sprinter vans and Smart cars and BMW’s Mini brand, which aren’t luxury vehicles.
BMW is “on pace” to become the U.S.’s top selling luxury brand this year, Ian Robertson, BMW’s top sales executive, told reporters Sunday in Carmel, California.
The brand’s sales in the U.S. are “reasonably” consistent, Robertson said. “We’re bringing models into the U.S. that are strong models right now,” he added.
