Lexus tops BMW in U.S. registrations; 2015 luxury title in dispute
http://www.autonews.com/article/20160212/RETAIL01/160219935/0?cciid=internal-anhome-mostright
King is back! Dealers buying vehicles to stuff end of year sales for BMW already happened in 2012:
Not so fast on BMW winning the 2015 U.S. luxury crown over Lexus and Mercedes.
According to manufacturer-reported sales released last month, BMW won. But Polk said today that Lexus was tops in U.S. vehicle registrations last year with 340,392 vs. BMW’s 335,259.
It’s a twist in the annual hotly contested luxury brand race, with BMW, Mercedes and Lexus jockeying throughout the year. On Jan. 5, BMW reported total 2015 sales of 346,023. That was 1,422 more than Lexus and 2,935 ahead of Mercedes (excluding Sprinter).
“Luxury sales leadership as measured by vehicle registrations is important to Lexus as it represents actual consumers engaging directly with our dealers,” Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken told Automotive News in an email.
BMW spokesman Kenn Sparks said, “Many factors influence registrations, and as a result, registrations often lag sales, especially at the end of the year.”
The U.S. registration numbers from Polk, a unit of IHS Automotive, are lower than reported sales for all three brands: By 4,209 for Lexus, 10,764 for BMW and 8,396 for Mercedes.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20160212/RETAIL01/160219935/0?cciid=internal-anhome-mostright
King is back! Dealers buying vehicles to stuff end of year sales for BMW already happened in 2012:
BMW’s claim to the 2012 luxury-brand crown was disputed by Mercedes-Benz after Polk later reported Mercedes had 5,025 more registrations than BMW. The two German automakers had traded barbs for weeks after BMW had reported a huge December sales surge to claim the title.
Then Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Steve Cannon fired the final shot in that spat: “We're the leader in the luxury segment, at least when you're talking about cars in customer hands,” he huffed. “Volumes can be manipulated. Registrations, not so easy.”