In the month of November, Mercedes Benz, a German automobile company outsold Audi but it wasn’t enough to overcome BMW, which still remains its position as the world’s No. 1 and Mercedes-Benz became the world’s second largest luxury car brand with its new line of compacts lured customers to the Daimler unit.
With 11 percent of increase from last year, Mercedes delivered 133,441 cars and SUVs in November that beat Audi’s 132,050 sales, which was a 7 percent rise from last year. BMW brand defended its global premium sales lead by boosting monthly car sale 3 percent to 149,663 vehicles. It was the first month since December 2012 that Mercedes Benz sold more than Audi.
Overall, BMW brand has sold 1.49 million vehicles this year, a rise of 8 percent, keeping it ahead of Audi, which reported on Monday that its deliveries rose 7 percent to 1.44 million. Mercedes sales rose 11 percent to 1.32 million in the first 11 months.
November is the fifth month in a row that sales gains by Mercedes outpaced increases at BMW and Audi. A 54 percent surge in demand for compact models, including the four-door CLA coupe and A-class hatchback, propelled growth at the carmaker. In addition to introducing the CLA in April, Mercedes revamped its S-class flagship sedan and upgraded the upscale E-class sedan in 2013.
Sascha Gommel, who is a Frankfurt based analyst at Commerzbank AG said “The current model cycle is very beneficial for Mercedes”. “Audi and BMW have to invest in new production capacities and the development of new models. Mercedes’s investment cycle has peaked and they are entering a phase of outperformance.” All three German car manufacturers are targeting sales records this year on strong demand from China and the United States.
Audi recently added a sedan to the A3 line alongside hatchback and wagon models and November sales of the compacts surged 41%.
Both Audi and Mercedes have vowed to surpass BMW in sales by the end of the decade. To win more customers, Audi said earlier this month that it plans to roll out the Q1 subcompact SUV in 2016 in an expansion of its crossover line. Mercedes is introducing the GLA compact SUV as part of a plan to bring out 13 new models by 2020.
BMW said that their brand deliveries were boosted by sales of the new 3-series GT, which helped overall 3-series sales grow 24 percent to 451,774 through November, and the 4 series, which went on sale in October and has sold 9,938 units. Sales at the group’s Mini brand fell nearly 1 percent last month to 24,873. Since January, sales have risen nearly 1 percent to 274,575. Total BMW Group sales, which include the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, rose 3 percent to 174,996 last month. In the first 11 months, the group sold 1.77 million vehicles, a rise of 7 percent.
