In the back and forth that is the luxury car sales lead in the United States, Mercedes was a narrow winner in August. It holds the same position for the first eight months of 2014, with a very slim advantage over BMW. No other luxury manufactures are even close, a sign of how strong the choke holds of the two premier brands are.
Mercedes sold 28,958 cars and light trucks last month to BMW’s 27,214. Experts will argue that incentives tip the lead from one company to the other. However, the close battle between the two has gone on too long for that to be the sole reason. More likely, the army of regular new model introductions and upgrades have been the foundation of success and the razor-thin advantage either one has from month to month or year to year. Recently much of the fight has been over the lowest end of the market, where the two companies attempt to get buyers who have less than $40,000 to spend.
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Traditionally, Audi has held the third place spot, but that ignores the presence of Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE TM) Lexus, which is not always considered a true competitor to the German car companies. It sold 32,809 cars and light trucks in August to Audi’s 15,587. Lexus may be left out of the highest end luxury club because its line of vehicles does not have many that sell for more than $100,000. Or, perhaps it is because of a stigma of being owned by a larger car company.
On an eight-month basis, Mercedes and BMW handily outsold their rivals. Mercedes has sold 221,471 vehicles to BMW’s 211,050. The lead over Audi for the period is also very large. The brand, known for its four-wheel-drive cars, sold 105,918 from January to August.
The German manufacturer numbers serve to point out one other trend, which is the great, ongoing trouble of America manufacturer luxury brands. Despite repeated changes in it model line, General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac division sold 16,650 vehicles. Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) Lincoln, with its very limited number of models, sold 8,146 for August. Some industry observers believe it is a wonder that Ford keeps the brand alive instead of letting it go the route of Saturn and Pontiac.
For now, and for the foreseeable future, the luxury market has only two leaders.
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