BMW sales in U.S. top Toyota's Lexus for third straight month

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s namesake brand increased U.S. sales 1.6 percent in August and beat Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus nameplate as the top U.S. luxury brand for the third straight month.

BMW sales rose to 19,540 as deliveries of its 1 Series gained 53 percent and the 7 Series climbed 42 percent, the Munich-based company said yesterday in a statement. Lexus deliveries decreased 15 percent to 19,465, the brand’s Toyota City, Japan-based parent company said in a statement.

“We are seeing a slowdown in the market and do not expect the second half of the year to be as strong as the first half,” Jim O’Donnell, BMW of North America president, said in a statement. “Despite this, building momentum throughout the year and narrowing the gap with our competitors is still our plan.”

Lexus had record recalls in the past year, including of its LS 460 cars and GX 460 sport-utility vehicles, and is facing competition from revamped models by BMW and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz. BMW, which beat Lexus in June and July, has set a goal of becoming the best-selling U.S. luxury brand by 2012.

“The new product is just so important for the entire market but especially for the luxury segment where it is much more discerning between old versus new,” said Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst with Edmunds.com, a Santa Monica, California- based provider of industry data.

Mercedes sales increased 10 percent to 18,826 vehicles, Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler said in a statement. The gain was helped by the revamped E-Class, which rose 26 percent for the month and has gained 71 percent for the year through August.

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