After the three-pointed star manufacturer finally got its luxury sales crown back at the end of 2013 in the United States, the first half of 2014 has seen BMW slowly but surely inch into the lead once again.
With year-to-date sales of 157,382 cars, the BMW brand is slightly ahead of MB USA, who despite achieving another milestone in record sales, only managed to have a year-to-date figure of 151,624 cars.
In other words, it was the best first half of the year ever for BMW USA from this point of view, the numbers representing an increase of 12.1 percent on sales compared to the first six months of 2013.
“The June and first-half results prove again that customer demand is solid and stronger than many have thought and we fully expect confidence and demand to stay strong through the end of the year,” said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America. “I am particularly pleased with the results for our 2 and 4 Series models; these are driving machines at the core of the BMW brand.”
Even though MINI sales continue to be abysmal in the US, with year-to-date numbers falling by 25.4 percent, the BMW Group on the whole managed to increase their sales by 5.1 percent.
Still, with six months to go and an overall better rhythm of sales increases, not to mention that the new C-Class W205, GLA X156 and S-Class Coupe C217 are not yet in US showrooms, the Stuttgart manufacturer has time to bounce back by the end of the year, so only time will tell who gets the crown in 2014.
By Alex Oagana
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