Germany’s premium automakers are benefiting most from a boom in UK car sales that has far outpaced the recovery in the rest of Europe.
Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are winning sales and market share from mass-market manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors’ Vauxhall brand after expanding their lineups and offering more fuel-efficient vehicles, analysts say.
Audi’s A3 compact and Mercedes-Benz’s S-class flagship helped the two German automakers narrow their sales gaps with global luxury-car leader BMW in the first half.
Six-month auto sales by BMW’s namesake brand exceeded Audi’s deliveries by 16,997 vehicles compared with a difference of 23,760 a year earlier, according to figures released by the manufacturers this week. BMW’s lead against Mercedes shrank 6 percent to 102,827 cars.
Daimler said today that sales of its Mercedes-Benz brand rose 8 percent to 142,136 in June thanks to strong demand for its compact models.
BMW won the June U.S. luxury sales race and widened its lead over the Mercedes-Benz brand and Lexus during the first six months.
Last month, BMW sold 30,201 vehicles, a 12 percent increase, helped by the 5-series sedan, which surged 77 percent to 7,940 deliveries. Mercedes sales rose 9 percent to 26,506, helped by a 25 percent gain to 6,500 for the E-class sedan.
The new Mercedes-Benz S-class Pullman will cost more than double the top-of-the-range Rolls-Royce when it goes on sale next year.
