April has been a great month for Mercedes-Benz in the States, as it strengthened its position at the top spot in the premium segment.
Sales increased marginally, by just 0.2 percent, to 29,236 units – which, however, is a new record for the brand. Moreover, its two rivals saw their own deliveries decline by 7.4 percent.
Lexus sold 24,882 vehicles and BMW was hot on its heels, with 24,951 units. Year to date, Mercedes leads Lexus by more than 5,000 vehicles and BMW is third and unlikely to retain its 2015 crown in the US.
The name of the game is SUVs: demand for Merc’s GLC and GLK rose by 45 percent. Lexus also experienced an increase in its own SUV range sales, by 20 percent, while BMW’s off-roaders dropped by 9.7 percent.
“We absolutely think there’s no end in sight to the surge in sport utility sales”, senior analyst for Autotrader.com, Michelle Krebs, told Autonews. “Traditional luxury cars have struggled, whereas the growth has all come in the utility parts of the business and we don’t see that this will change.”
On his part, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, Dietmar Exler, expects to see even bigger growth as the brand “is heading into a strong second-quarter with a minimum of nine new model launches in the months ahead”.