In April, U.S. sales of Mercedes vehicles rose to 22,336 (24%) giving the Stuttgart-based automaker a lead for the year over BMW which sold 21,062 vehicles in the same month.
In the first quarter of the year, BMW had a slight lead over Mercedes, with 36 vehicles sold more than its competitor.
For the year, Mercedes sales are up 17 percent or 83,849 units, giving them a lead of 1,238 units over BMW which sales are up 16 percent this year.
Lexus slowly recovers with 2.6 percent sales increase to 66,647 during the first four months of the year.
Specialists like Jesse Toprak, an analyst with TrueCar.com, says that this will be a close race between the two German premium automakers. “You’re going to see this back-and-fourth for the rest of the year.”
BMW’s sales were positively influenced by the launch of the new 2012 3 Series, while 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 U.S. premium automaker, Cadillac, fell 25 percent to 9,851 in April.
[Source: Bloomberg]
