Mercedes-Benz topped BMW as the sales leader in the U.S. luxury market for February. Mercedes reported a 22 percent growth in U.S. sales for last month, which tops BMW’s 0.5 percent growth.
Although the percentages seem vastly different, the actual vehicle count sold wasn’t. Mercedes sold a total of 22,040 vehicles compared to BMW’s 21,311.
BMW can credit a 22 percent jump in X5 sales for keeping their total sales up, while Mercedes credits the C-class, whose sales grew some 39 percent. Both German brands have been outselling their Japanese counterpart Lexus for the past two years.
Lexus lost their lead when Japan’s natural disasters hindered production. They had previously been the luxury sales leader in the U.S. for 11 consecutive years.
It’s also important to note Mercedes sales numbers don’t include any of Daimler’s cargo vans and Smart cars while BMW’s numbers exclude the Mini brand as those vehicles aren’t considered luxury cars.
