Lexus likely to beat out BMW for U.S.’ top luxury spot

BMW may have retained its title of world’s largest automaker through the first quarter, but the German automaker is unlikely to unseat Lexus as the United State’s most popular luxury brand in 2010. BMW has been a perennial runner-up to Lexus in the U.S. market for the last decade.
The door seemed to be open for the U.S. top luxury spot following Toyota’s massive recalls – including a recent recall of the Lexus GX 460 SUV – but BMW sales head Ian Robertson says that a lack of inventory will keep BMW from toppling Lexus this year.
“Effectively, we’ve run out our existing 5-Series and won’t launch our new 5-Series until June,” Robertson said at the Beijing auto show. “So a full-year effect won’t be felt.” Robertson added that the 5-Series makes up about 25 percent of BMW’s U.S. sales volume.
During the first quarter, BMW’s U.S. sales increased 8 percent to 46,323 units. However, that figure was bested by Lexus’ 49,523 first quarter sales – an increase of 18 percent. Lexus isn’t a runaway favorite for the U.S. sales title, though, as Mercedes-Benz sold 50,590 vehicles in the U.S. during the first quarter.