David Cutting
BMW, offering 11 models in the US market, currently is the best-selling luxury, or premium, brand through the first four months of 2011, according to data from our Automotive Forecasting division. BMW’s year-to-date sales through April totaled 71,417 units, which was a 10% improvement over last year’s same time period. The German luxury automaker’s 5 Series midsize premium conventional model posted strong gains for the brand this year—sales rose more than 75%, to 15,986 units vs. 9,111 sales a year ago. Also, the redesigned X3 compact premium crossover (CUV) bolstered the brand’s totals with 7,987 unit sales so far this year. Additionally, all of BMW’s CUV models posted gains this year, while the volume-leading 3 Series, which was the best-selling premium model in the US market, posted a 12% sales decline (26,590 unit sales vs. 30,360 unit sales in 2010).
Mercedes-Benz, with a lineup of 15 models in the US new-vehicle market, was very close to its rival BMW, selling just 32 fewer units through the first four months. Mercedes delivered 71,385 premium cars and light trucks in January through April 2011, up 7% from last year’s 66,857 unit deliveries. In addition to being the best-selling luxury brand, the Mercedes C-Class and E-Class passenger cars were among the 10 best-selling luxury models in the United States during this same time frame. The Sprinter van has sold 3,764 units in year-to-date sales, but is not included in the above figures as it is not considered to be a premium model. Continue reading ›
