BMW Falls To Third Place In Global Sales Race - Outpaced By Both Audi And Mercedes In January

As a long term BMY owner I was bored to death with exterior and interior styling and bought a Mercedes-Benz which to my surprise handles extremely well. Years ago every third model generation at BMW was a noticeable design change which added excitement and refreshment to the line. Lately its just more of the same and not compelling to buy another one.

Let the leapfrogging begin, although when Benz takes the global lead, they usually hold it for decades

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is a significant drop at BMW when compared to Audi and Mercedes-Benz though. However, this should not come as a huge surprise because BMW's global sales growth rate for 2014 was lower than both Audi's and Mercedes-Benz's.

Furthermore, this continues the trend of the past 5 years that has seen Audi's global sales growth rate outpace that of BMW's. This higher sales growth rate has allowed Audi to overthrow Mercedes-Benz for the second spot in global sales and inch every closer to BMW.

With Audi's $29 billion investment in research and development, new models, and improved manufacturing capabilities along with economies of scale, I see no reason why Audi will not overthrow BMW for the top spot by 2016.

BMW's strategy of creating ever-smaller niches, using the same exteriors, cheapening its interiors and reducing the emphasis on driving dynamics is coming back to haunt it. The multiplying niches will cannibalize sales as buyers are unable to understand the difference between models. The same exterior makes buyers unable to tell the difference between models. The cheaper interior quality makes buyers feel like they are not getting enough value for their money. Lastly, the reduced emphasis on driving dynamics does not allow buyers to receive the driving thrills they were so accustomed to with a BMW and what was a big reason why they bought a BMW over an Audi or Mercedes-Benz in the first place.

Does it really matter if you sell more units than the other guy? I tend to focus on consistent profitability, and it appears that BMW has that wrapped up nicely. They do well, even when the economy doesn't.

Agreed and particularly true among top tiers. I don't think Rolls and Bentley care much about selling more units than BMW and Mercedes, while BMW and Merc main concern should not be selling more cars than Audi or Lexus, and so on...

These numbers just get more meaningless every month/year. Audi's growth is based on focusing on its lower-range models. BMW's sales are heavily weighted on the success of the 3/4 Series.
Honestly, probably the only German luxury brand with any bragging rights is Mercedes. They offer the most models at the higher price points. The S-Class is just absolutely dominating its segment and with the gorgeous coupe and Maybach variants, that domination will just continue. They've taken the C-Class upmarket and with the coupe and cabriolet versions (as well as estate) that will bolster sales. Mercedes' sales results shows a better distribution throughout the brand and is not heavily weighted either on one end of the price spectrum or on one or two individual models. And let's not forget the article published last year that stated that Mercedes was the luxury car owned by the wealthiest in China, despite the brand being significantly behind Audi and BMW in that country.

Bingo!

Audi is actually more profitable than both BMW and Mercedes-Benz.