One Month In And Mercedes-Benz Leads The Luxury Car Sales Car Race

The Daimler brand sold 22,604 vehicles last month, 103 more than a year earlier, led by the new entry-level CLA compact car, the carmaker said. BMW, surpassed by Mercedes in 2013, reported an 11 percent gain to 18,253.

Mercedes and BMW are among luxury automakers expanding with lower-cost models. Sales of entry-level cars and SUVs represent 67 percent of the U.S. luxury market and probably will keep growing this year, Bloomberg Industries forecasts. Mercedes will benefit from a full year of its CLA, which starts at $29,900, a refreshed C class and a new GLA small SUV, while BMW is introducing a $33,025 2-series coupe.

 

GermanNut - 2/4/2014 11:14:06 AM

+1 Boost

BMW will need a small entry-level sedan if it wants to have any hope of dethroning Mercedes-Benz from the top sales spot in the U.S. The CLA has sold very well and although its numbers will likely see a substantial decline once Audi's entry-level A3 sedan comes to market, it will still be enough to stay comfortably ahead of BMW.

The GLA will only help Mercedes-Benz even further.

Car4Life - 2/4/2014 11:37:24 AM

+2 Boost

don't forget the new C Class, and even without the CLA, Mercedes would have outsold competitors in January. The fact is while the current E class and C Class are the oldest in their respective segments, they are solid sellers

cidflekken - 2/4/2014 2:29:14 PM

+2 Boost

Agree with @Mercedes. The CLA and A3 are targeting customers with two different sets of needs. The A3 does an outstanding job of offering significantly more backseat room than the CLA. The CLA is targeting coupe-driven buyers who can benefit from an accessible rear seat. Mercedes did it right, as they are not sabotaging their C250 sales by offering a car with similar back-seat capacity, as clearly indicated by the strong CLA sales and the still-strong C-Class sales.