The Mercedes-Benz and BMW rivalry has always spurned tight competition, no matter the battle grounds. However, in 2013, Mercedes-Benz narrowly won the numbers game by outselling their rival in the United States.
In the U.S., Mercedes claims to have sold 312,534 cars and SUVs during 2013, a 14% increase from 2012’s amount of 274,134 vehicles sold. BMW came close, but fell short of Mercedes’ totals, selling 309,280 vehicles.
Mercedes added an extra jolt to sales with their new CLA-Class vehicles, which start at only $29,000. Since the line’s launch in the fall, 14,113 CLAs were sold. Topping the rest of Mercedes’ models was the C-Class, which sold 88,251 models in 2013. In second place was the E-Class with 69,803 vehicles sold and the M-Class, which sold 41,326 vehicles sold, in third. 2013 proved to be their greatest year ever in sales.
Though BMW did not release exact sales figures for each model, they did state that the sales for the 3 and 4 Series were up 55.8% in December, totaling 16,737 models sold. Also, the 1 Series was up 37.3% with 1,039 vehicles sold in December. Though just barely under Mercedes-Benz’s sales numbers, 2013 was the all-time highest selling year in BMW Group history, with 375,782 vehicles sold between BMW and MINI combined.
While 2013 was a record breaking year for both luxury automakers, Mercedes-Benz came out on top. Both are looking to 2014 with a positive mindset, hoping for yet another record year.
(Sources: Mercedes-Benz, BMW)
