The one thing we knew for sure after the manufacturing disruptions in Japan caused by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami was thatLexus wasn’t going to top the premium segment in the U.S. market for the first time in a decade. In fact, we also knew something else, the two contenders to the throne: BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
What we didn’t know up until Thursday is which of two brands was going to win, since both were caught in a neck-to-neck sales race. Going into December the gap was so small - less than 1,600 cars- that the win could go either way.
In the end, both German carmakers increased their 2011 sales by 13 percent compared to 2010, but the winner was BMW, which sold 247,907 units, leaving Mercedes-Benz in second place since with 245,231 sales. According to Edmunds.com, BMW raised its incentives by more than US$200 per vehicle in December, while Mercedes’ incentives remained flat.
Lexus saw its sales fall by 13.4 percent, to 198,552 vehicles, which relegated Toyota’s luxury brand to third place. Nevertheless, on Wednesday, company officials estimated that Lexus’ sales in the U.S. will rise by more than 20 percent this year, putting it back in the race for the top spot.
The two other Japanese luxury brands, Honda’s Acura and Nissan’s Infiniti, also suffered from supply problems and the strong yen, recording an 8 and 4.8 percent drop which placed them in sixth and eighth place respectively.
General Motors performed quite well, with Buick finishing fourth with a 14.3 percent increase to 177,633 units, and Cadillac right behind with a growth of 3.7 percent and sales of 152,389 units.
While Audi managed to increase its sales by 16 percent, it couldn’t manage anything better than seventh place and 117,561 units, less than half of its leading compatriots.
The U.S. luxury segment top 10 is rounded off by Lincoln with 85,643 units that amount to essentially flat sales, and Volvo which, despite ending last with just 67,240 sales, recorded a 25 percent increase compared to 2010.
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