BMW to top Lexus as no.1 in U.S. luxury sales

Posted: Jun 30, 2009
Filed under: BMW, Industry News, Lexus

2009 BMW 7-Series

BMW is on its way to take the best-selling luxury brand title in the United States from Lexus in 2009 – eight years after BMW has been stuck at number 2.

According to Automotive News, as automakers prepare to report June sales tomorrow, BMW is slightly ahead of Lexus with 76,819 units to 73,186. The U.S. is BMW’s largest market with 23 percent of its 1.27 million sales coming from the U.S. market last year. Germany was the second largest sales volume market for BMW with 19.6 percent.

During the first 5 months of 2009, Lexus’ U.S. sales have dropped 37.2 percent, wile BMW’s sales were down 30.5 percent.

“This year’s emphasis is on maintaining our market share and even growing our share a bit,” said Jan Ehlen, a spokesman for BMW of North America. “If this results in remaining in the top spot of the premium market, that would be a nice bonus.”

Cadillac dominated the number one spot in the best-selling luxury brand market from 1946 through 1997. Lincoln took over in 1998 followed by Mercedes-Benz in 1999.

- By: Omar Rana

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  2. BMW overtakes Lexus as best-selling luxury brand in 2009
  3. Toyota and Lexus considering uber-luxury brand to rival Rolls-Royce
  4. Luxury car sales down more than industry as a whole
  5. Hyundai to launch luxury brand in 2010 ‘along the lines of Toyota’s Lexus’

  • JVC
    The more appropriate headline should have been, "Lexus nosedives under BMW". BMW did not do any "toppling", they are actually loosing market share to Audi. It is Lexus who is performing worse than BMW and thus BMW is "moving" ahead of Lexus.
  • zermatt
    In baseball, if the team that has lead since the All Star Break falls apart in the final weeks of the season and doesn't make it to the World Series it doesn't diminish the value of the victory for the team that won the series. It isn't what should have happened, it is all about being there when it matters - when the final count is done.
  • JVC
    Totally disagree. Being there when it matters is the same as saying winning is the only thing no matter how you get there. This is a modernistic view of many who do not value the work and effort of athletes (or companies) who DESERVEDLY earn their success. This is all about earning and working for something, not getting a freebie.

    This is more like when in Soccer you are down 5-0 and all of a sudden the other team scores 10 goals in their own net out of stupidity. Your win is not self-earned at all. BMW made no successful effort to surpass Lexus. This is all about Lexus pretty much saying, "we give up", here you go, we'll let you win.

    It says much about BMW how they react to this. If gloating is their choice, it tells me a lot about how they conduct business.
  • zermatt
    If Lexus is making stupid decisions and, as you say, is 'pretty much saying, "we give up", here you go, we'll let you win', how can anyone draw the conclusion that the company with the highest sales total is not the sales leader?

    It is not as if BMW has stood still in the past year. Improvements to the 3 series, the all new 7 series and the X6 doesn't sound like no efforts.

    If you don't like BMW and admire Lexus there is nothing wrong with that, but the sales total at the end of the year will be the determining factor of which company is the winner.

    Finally, in auto racing the win is awarded to the first car across the finish line. A car that led all but the final lap is not the winner - no matter if the the lead was lost while racing or due to a miscalculation on how much fuel in the car remained.
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