Lexus, Mercedes post best '09 U.S. sales

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz posted their highest U.S. sales this year in July in a sign that the slump in luxury-auto demand is starting to abate.

Lexus deliveries dropped 17 percent to 18,517 vehicles, Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota said today. Stuttgart, Germany- based Daimler said sales of Mercedes-Benz autos fell 22 percent to 16,228.

"Everyone's just tired of saving and not spending," said Stephanie Brinley, an automotive analyst with AutoPacific Inc. in Troy, Michigan. "While the economy isn't improving, it's not getting a lot worse at the moment."

The results suggested that the industry's July recovery buoyed luxury brands with models ineligible for the government's so-called cash-for-clunkers incentive. In addition to fuel- economy standards ruling out some sports cars, the program is limited to new autos with a retail price of $45,000 or less.

For example, two of the four sedans from Lexus list for at least that amount, according to the company's Web site. U.S. sales dropped 11 percent for Toyota, which has models including the Prius hybrid and Corolla small car that meet the terms of the federal Car Allowance Rebate System.

The declines for Lexus and Mercedes were smaller than in the year's first half, when they plunged 34 percent and 29 percent, according to figures compiled by industry researcher Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Luxury, Infiniti

Ford Motor Co.'s luxury Lincoln brand decreased 24 percent to 6,672 vehicles, after tumbling 28 percent this year through June. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker reported an increase in total sales of 2.3 percent.

Infiniti, the luxury unit of Nissan Motor Co., declined 23 percent to 7,096 units, paring its 38 percent drop this year through June.

Honda Motor Co., which like Nissan is based in Tokyo, said its Acura brand fell 32 percent to 8,662 vehicles, compared with a 34 percent drop through June.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, which is based in Munich and is the world's biggest maker of luxury cars, said sales of its BMW-brand vehicles fell 32 percent to 16,381 vehicles. That was bigger than the 29 percent drop this year through June.