BMW Claims Victory Over Mercedes in Global Luxury-Sales Race

(Bloomberg) -- BMW AG says it beat Mercedes-Benz in global premium-car sales last year, the first time it has trumped its German arch rival since 2015.

“Proudly claiming number one position in the global premium automotive segment for the BMW brand in 2021,” BMW’s head of sales Pieter Nota wrote in a post on LinkedIn Monday, crediting the win to the company’s product lineup and operational performance.

BMW didn’t yet detail full-year sales numbers, but deliveries have been tracking ahead of the Daimler AG brand for much of this year. The Munich-based automaker has been less affected by the global shortage of semiconductors that has snarled production lines globally. 

A number of carmakers who had signaled the worst of the chip crunch to be over after a tough third quarter have started to walk back those expectations. Mercedes on Monday said scarce supply of the components will continue to grip the industry during the first half of the year and urged more capacity to be added globally.  

BMW will report its full-year sales numbers on Jan. 12, according to a spokeswoman. The automaker delivered 1.7 million BMW-branded vehicles through the first nine months of the year, it said previously, exceeding Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz by more than 112,000 vehicles. 

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.