bmw BMW wins U.S. luxury sales crown

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

BMW wins U.S. luxury sales crown

Lexus' reign as the best-selling luxury brand in the United States has come to an end after 11 years.

Plagued by production problems resulting from March's earthquake and tsunami, the brand's sales declined by 13 percent to 198,552 units for 2011.

BMW, on the other hand, saw their sales increase 13 percent to 247,907 units. This earns them the title as the best-selling luxury automaker in America.

Despite the impressive finish, it was a relatively close race as BMW edged out Mercedes by just 2,715 vehicles.

[webeagle12]

no audi?

[ILikeTobacco]

Still amuses me as to what qualifies as "luxury" here. BMW is far from it. In Germany, mostly the poor Turkish immigrants drive BMW's. That or GI's lol.

[zeta_immersion]

i got a 2012 corolla , my next i hope will be a bmw ... at double the price i know ... the S5 is un-attainable

[Bryan R.]

Still amuses me as to what qualifies as "luxury" here. BMW is far from it. In Germany, mostly the poor Turkish immigrants drive BMW's. That or GI's lol.

That's not really a fair comparison I don't think. Are the BMWs over there as luxurious as the ones over here? Doubtful.. Same with Mercedes. Over here, they are top notch while over there they make buses and trucks..

[still1]

no audi?

Audi seems to be long gone!! I dont see a lot of Audi on the roads these days but a lot of BMW..

My next car is def BMW but not at least for 2 years.

[Bryan R.]

Audi is definitely a classy car. Some of the models I would easily take over Mercedes/BMW.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

no audi?

Yeah, what's up with that... I too was disappointed when I didn't find Audi's numbers in the news with the rest of the bunch. Although, I suspect it's the third.

Still amuses me as to what qualifies as "luxury" here. BMW is far from it. In Germany, mostly the poor Turkish immigrants drive BMW's. That or GI's lol.

Luxury vehicle is a marketing term for a vehicle that provides luxury ? pleasant or desirable features beyond strict necessity?at increased expense (see: definition of luxury).

The term suggests a vehicle with greater equipment, performance, construction precision, comfort, design ingenuity, technological innovation, or features that convey brand image, cachet, status, or prestige?or any other discretionary feature or combination of features.

[ILikeTobacco]

That's not really a fair comparison I don't think. Are the BMWs over there as luxurious as the ones over here? Doubtful.. Same with Mercedes. Over here, they are top notch while over there they make buses and trucks..

The majority of BMWs I see in the US are the ones that young soldiers drive. The cheap ones that sell for only 30k brand new and less than 15k after a year. Those cars as about as luxurious as the 2011 MazdaSpeed I drive. That is, they aren't.MazdaSpeed is 28k fully loaded. However, I don't consider cars that cost less than 40k luxurious in any way. They are just as cheaply made as the 20k cars with no "luxury" brand name attached.

[Roger H. Veteran]

That's not really a fair comparison I don't think. Are the BMWs over there as luxurious as the ones over here? Doubtful.. Same with Mercedes. Over here, they are top notch while over there they make buses and trucks..

They use Mercedes E350s at Taxi's in Germany. LOL So it's probably just as comparable. E350 is a $50,000 car in the USA. The older ones 1998 models are most common i'd say but they have some in the 2007 range, even 2011 S class are taxis.

[ILikeTobacco]

Luxury vehicle is a marketing term for a vehicle that provides luxury ? pleasant or desirable features beyond strict necessity?at increased expense (see: definition of luxury).

The term suggests a vehicle with greater equipment, performance, construction precision, comfort, design ingenuity, technological innovation, or features that convey brand image, cachet, status, or prestige?or any other discretionary feature or combination of features.

It is just a marketing term and the majority of BMW's people see are the base models that start at 30k. Under that definition, all US cars are luxury cars because all cars here come with a radio and air, and if I understand correctly, radios and air are an option in Europe.

[Bryan R.]

The majority of BMWs I see in the US are the ones that young soldiers drive. The cheap ones that sell for only 30k brand new and less than 15k after a year. Those cars as about as luxurious as the 2011 MazdaSpeed I drive. That is, they aren't.MazdaSpeed is 28k fully loaded. However, I don't consider cars that cost less than 40k luxurious in any way. They are just as cheaply made as the 20k cars with no "luxury" brand name attached.

The BMWs that most people associate with luxury are Series 5, 6, 7 and M.

[ILikeTobacco]

The BMWs that most people associate with luxury are Series 5, 6, 7 and M.

Which I agree with but the problem then is that this "crown" was won with brand sales, not just individual models that fall into what we would consider luxury cars in the brand.

[BGM]

That's not really a fair comparison I don't think. Are the BMWs over there as luxurious as the ones over here? Doubtful.. Same with Mercedes. Over here, they are top notch while over there they make buses and trucks..

what the hell?

yes, BMWs are broadly the same whereever their are sold. Occaisonally, specific variants of a class are not offered in some markets (xDrive, Touring editions etc) but on the whole, the build, and trim levels are the same.

The only other changes that there are between US and Euro spec are things like mph/kph speedo, and the god awful orange reflectors / signal lights you have to have have in the USA... which, imo cheapens them.

[ILikeTobacco]

Also.. take a look at 2010 sales.

http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/01/04/bmw-us-sales-in-december-2010-up-16-9-percent/

Trucks are included in their count.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

Audi seems to be long gone!! I dont see a lot of Audi on the roads these days but a lot of BMW..

My next car is def BMW but not at least for 2 years.

+1 for the bimmer, but you are mistaken about Audi.

Audi gains ground on premium car rivals

Reuters) - Audi, the premium car brand of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), posted record sales in 2011 as demand for luxury cars in China and Russia helped it gain ground on bigger rivals like BMW (BMWG.DE) and Daimler's (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz.

Audi on Monday unveiled sales growth of 19.2 percent for last year, outpacing 12.8 percent for the BMW brand and 8.0 percent at Daimler's luxury brand.

The VW unit sold 1.30 million cars in the year, compared with 1.38 million BMWs and 1.26 million at Mercedes-Benz.

Audi wants to dethrone BMW as the world's number one premium car maker by 2015 through powering ahead in China and the United States, the world's biggest luxury car market.

BMW is betting on the same thing and believes demand in these two key markets will keep it ahead of the pack.

Audi is growing faster than BMW, yay! :D

Audi sets all-time ME sales record in 2011

[still1]

The cheap ones that sell for only 30k brand new and less than 15k after a year.

Show me a used 1 year old BMW in the US with brand new price of ~30k and have come down to 15k?

[Bryan R.]

what the hell?

yes, BMWs are broadly the same whereever their are sold. Occaisonally, specific variants of a class are not offered in some markets (xDrive, Touring editions etc) but on the whole, the build, and trim levels are the same.

The only other changes that there are between US and Euro spec are things like mph/kph speedo, and the god awful orange reflectors / signal lights you have to have have in the USA... which, imo cheapens them.

I posed the question if the comparison is really fair. It seems it may be just a matter of good marketing in the American market for these luxury brands that warrants the higher cost. Or it could be that these car manufacturers don't charge the same premium when sold locally..

It is a fact though that Mercedes builds many buses and transport vehicles in Europe which is non-existent over here.

[ILikeTobacco]

Show me a used 1 year old BMW in the US with brand new price of ~30k and have come down to 15k?

http://www.bmwusa.com/standard/content/vehicles/2012/1/128icoupe/default.aspx

These are cars are worthless. Go military based that have a high deploy rate and you'll find these for 15k in the quick sales lots.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

They use Mercedes E350s at Taxi's in Germany. LOL So it's probably just as comparable. E350 is a $50,000 car in the USA. The older ones 1998 models are most common i'd say but they have some in the 2007 range, even 2011 S class are taxis.

It just means it's a reliable car.

[ILikeTobacco]

It is a fact though that Mercedes builds many buses and transport vehicles in Europe which is non-existent over here.

Probably a huge factor. Hard to claim your luxury when you have cheap looking motorcycles, transport trucks, and tour buses driving around. At least, it makes marketing much harder.

[BGM]

Show me a used 1 year old BMW in the US with brand new price of ~30k and have come down to 15k?

i don't really know a lot about the US pricing strucutre of the marque, but a quick look on the BMW US site and i can only see 1 model and that's a 128i with no options.. still $31k though

but holy ****... an M3 starts at only ?38k... waaaaaaa, i wanna move to the US :(

It is a fact though that Mercedes builds many buses and transport vehicles in Europe which is non-existent over here.

BM do not make buses. At least, as far as i know... and i'd like to think i do ;)

This fact alone makes it an even more impressive stat, considering MB *do* make trucks etc

[ILikeTobacco]

i don't really know a lot about the US pricing strucutre of the marque, but a quick look on the BMW US site and i can only see 1 model and that's a 128i with no options.. still $31k though

but holy ****... an M3 starts at only ?38k... waaaaaaa, i wanna move to the US :(

Amounts to about $400-$500 a month if buying, around $300 if leasing. Most people who make more than $15 an hour can afford these cars. You see them everywhere.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

i don't really know a lot about the US pricing strucutre of the marque, but a quick look on the BMW US site and i can only see 1 model and that's a 128i with no options.. still $31k though

That's the thing, my friend. The German cars exported to the U.S. already come with a list of standard options which easily surpasses that of their European models. For example, starting with A4, 3 series, and C-class and up - leather is standard. You simply won't find these cars in the U.S./Canada with cloth seats :D

[still1]

+1 for the bimmer, but you are mistaken about Audi.

Audi is growing faster than BMW, yay! :D

I love Audi too... but I dont see a lot of Audi where i live... Most luxury car i see are Lexus andBMW

Very rarely i see Audi at least where i live.