Mercedes-Benz Pulls Ahead in Quarterly U.S. Luxury-Car Sales

(Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz topped rivals in first-quarter U.S. luxury-car sales, powered by a refreshed and filled out lineup of crossovers.

Mercedes sold 78,256 vehicles in the first three months of 2021, up 16% from a year earlier, led by the GLE sport-utility vehicle and its more-compact sibling, the GLC. Toyota Motor Corp’s luxury Lexus brand outsold BMW for the No. 2 spot, with a 32% jump to 74,253 for the quarter. The Lexus RX and NX SUVs made up more than a third of those sales.

BMW’s sales rose 20% to 71,433 in the first quarter, led by the X3 crossover, which was up 41%.

Luxury sales are rebounding after pandemic lockdowns last March shuttered dealerships and forced plant shutdowns. Now automakers are struggling to meet demand because of a semiconductor shortage that has idled plants around the world.

Volkswagen AG’s Audi brand grew sales 33% to 54,840 vehicles. The Audi Q5 was a top seller, with more than 14,000 sold. The electric e-tron, the German luxury brand’s response to Tesla Inc., more than doubled sales to 3,474.

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