BMW widens luxury-car lead over Audi as Mercedes gains momentum

http://europe.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130409/ANE/130409891/bmw-widens-luxury-car-lead-over-audi-as-mercedes-gains-momentum#ixzz2PyBtGDuV Follow us: @Automotive_News on Twitter | AutoNews on Facebook BERLIN (Bloomberg) -- BMW widened its luxury-auto sales lead over Audi last month on demand for the 3-series sedan and X1 sport-utility vehicle, while Mercedes-Benz brand gained momentum with new small cars. Deliveries at the BMW brand, the world's biggest luxury carmaker since 2005, rose 4.4 percent to 159,195 in March, beating the 3 percent gain posted by Audi. BMW's bigger increase helped widen its lead in the first quarter, with the automaker delivering 11,904 more cars than Audi. Mercedes increased deliveries 6.5 percent last month. The automaker's sales of the new A- and B-class compacts climbed 49 percent in the first quarter. Mercedes sold 56,506 fewer luxury vehicles than BMW in the three-month period. BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer said last month that the carmaker's factories are running at full capacity to keep up with demand. Sales of the X1 through March jumped 28 percent, while the 3-series deliveries climbed 20 percent. Gains at Audi were led by deliveries of the A1 small car and Q3 compact SUV. "The BMW group achieved an all-time high in sales last month and the best first quarter in its history, despite the headwinds present in Europe," Ian Robertson, BMW sales chief, said in a statement today. "We are aiming for further growth in BMW group worldwide sales in 2013." Faring better The German luxury carmakers, all of which are targeting sales increases this year, have fared better than the region's volume auto manufacturers as rising demand in China and the U.S. offset plunging industrywide deliveries in Europe. The region is wrestling with a sixth straight year of declines. "In spite of the difficult market in western Europe, we're still seeing positive sales numbers for the premium manufacturers," said Frank Biller, an analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart. "It remains to be seen to what extent these sales were bought with higher rebates. It's not easy to push sales in a market like this." Mercedes is looking for a further sales boost this year once it adds the CLA four-door coupe to its compact car line-up this month and brings out a revamped version of its upscale E-class at the same time. A new version of the flagship S-class sedan is scheduled to reach showrooms in the second half. The automaker's first-quarter deliveries climbed 3.5 percent. Increased production To meet rising demand for the A- and B-class compact cars, Mercedes will increase production of the vehicles with 21 extra shifts at the plant in Rastatt, Germany. The compact-car factory in Kecskemet, Hungary, added Saturday production this month and the automaker will build more SUVs at the U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Daimler has said. "At Daimler, you're starting to see the effect of the A- and B-Class," Biller said. "The momentum should pick up in the second half."