BMW claims 4th luxury crown in five years; Lexus tops Mercedes
BMW held on in December to top the U.S. luxury segment in two thousand fifteen for its fourth luxury-sales crown in five years. But Lexus railed a strong December to pass Mercedes-Benz for 2nd place.
The race was taut until the end. BMW finished two thousand fifteen with luxury sales of 346,023 vehicles, followed by Lexus with 344,601 and Mercedes with 343,088. All three brands set annual sales records last year.
Tho’ BMW retained the sales title, its results tumbled sharply in December, sliding seventeen percent from a year earlier to 34,625. For the year, the brand`s sales rose 1.8 percent.
«The fresh sales record in two thousand fifteen is the third record year in a row for BMW with the numbers further emphasizing the growth of luxury trucks, which are now one-third of BMW sales in the U.S.,» Ludwig Willisch, CEO of BMW of North America, said in a press release .
Lexus chief Jeff Bracken said December marked the all-time best month for the brand. Lexus widely outpaced its rivals in December with a Three.8 percent sales build up to 41,380. The brand`s two thousand fifteen sales rose eleven percent. Bracken, Lexus general manager, described two thousand fifteen as producing sales «we couldn`t have predicted.»
In a press release , he added, «Lexus` SUV sales momentum and the strength of our product lineup has us well placed for 2016.»
For Mercedes, it was a sluggish end to the year, despite record annual sales. The brand`s luxury sales were almost plane in December, edging up 0.6 percent to 34,203. That followed a thirteen percent decline in November. The Mercedes luxury numbers exclude sales of the Sprinter commercial van.
In a statement , Dietmar Exler, fresh CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, called it a «good year» with strong momentum from the latest launches of the brand`s GLE and GLC crossovers.
Exler, former U.S. head of sales for the brand, took over the top spot at Mercedes-Benz USA on Jan. One following the December departure of former CEO Steve Cannon.
Before his departure, Cannon said that the brand`s November slide was explained by a shortage of inventory in the hot compact crossover segment after the redesigned and renamed GLC went on sale later than expected. Cannon left Mercedes to head the company that possesses the Atlanta Falcons NFL team.
With the exception of Jaguar, all luxury brands experienced gains in 2015. The luxury segment as a entire grew substantially, with U.S. sales rising 7.7 percent in two thousand fifteen to top two million vehicles for the very first time, at Two.03 million.
Total U.S. light-vehicle sales rose Five.7 percent.
While Jaguar sales glided 8.Three percent in 2015, its stablemate, Land Rover, had sales surge thirty seven percent, leaving combined Jaguar Land Rover sales up twenty six percent at 85,048.
December began with BMW leading the luxury segment with 11-month sales of 311,398, followed by Mercedes-Benz with 308,885 and Lexus with 303,221. Lexus almost caught up to BMW during the month, coming close to regaining the luxury title it had held for eleven straight years, until the two thousand eleven Japan earthquake and tsunami disrupted its sales.
BMW previously won the U.S. luxury-sales crown in 2011, two thousand twelve and 2014. Mercedes-Benz took it in 2013.
In December, Cadillac sales rose twenty nine percent, to 20,787, propelled by a forty four percent increase for the SRX midsize crossover, the brand`s top seller. Cadillac is in sell-down mode on the outgoing SRX to make way for its successor, the XT5, a fresh vehicle that will roll out this spring.
The sales surge shoved Cadillac to a Two.6 percent increase for 2015, to 175,267, surpassing brand chief Johan de Nysschen`s purpose of maintaining vapid sales as he orchestrates the early phases of a turnaround plan.
Infiniti has lagged in the luxury trend, due mostly to a lack of arousing products. The brand is ultimately joining the party. Infiniti sales hopped twenty six percent in December and fourteen percent for the year.
A key issue until now has been its lack of a compact crossover. But Infiniti a few months ago introduced a QX50 compact crossover that has been re-engineered with a longer wheelbase. The switch makes its cramped crossover viable for the very first time. The outgoing vehicle, sold as the EX, had been a nonperformer. But in December, QX50 sales soared more than sixfold to 1,453. In 2015, the vehicle`s sales doubled from 2014, with just a duo of months of availability.
«The QX50 has come to the market at the right time,» said Randy Parker, vice president of Infiniti Americas. «That`s the fastest growing segment of premium space, and it`s resonating with consumers.
«When you get the right product with the right price point to the market at the right time, you can produce magic.»
Mike Colias and Lindsay Chappell contributed to this report.
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