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BMW Bypasses Audi and Mercedes, Takes the Lead in Luxury Sales

The German manufacturer BMW has passed its direct competitors Audi and Mercedes-Benz, selling 134,432 cars worldwide in June, a rise of 12,3 percent over 2010 figures, the company announced today.Mercedes-Benz sold a record 120,510 units during the same period, representing an increase of 6,4 percent, topping rival Audi in the process, which saw June sales grow 19 percent to 117,650 cars last month.

BMW brand's global deliveries, boosted by sales of the new 5-series sedan and X3 SUV, rose 17,8 percent to 689,861 units in the first six moths of the year, ahead of Audi’s 17.7 percent rise to 652,950 units. Mercedes’ sales grew 9.7 percent to 610,531 throughout the first six months.

“The figures reflect global demand,” BMW sales and marketing boss Ian Robertson said in a statement, adding however, that due to the model cycle and the year-on-year base effects, he expects the carmaker’s growth to slow in the second half of the year.Overall, BMW Group, including the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, sold 165,855 units in June, a rise of 15.9 percent. Between January and June, the Group’ sales totaled 833,366 vehicles, which meant an increase of 19.7 percent.

In the first six moths, Germany is BMW Group’s top global sales market with a total volume of 149,786 cars, a rise of 10,6 percent. Germany edged out BMW Group’s second-biggest market,the United States, where the carmaker’s sales were up to 18 percent to 143,521 units between January and June. Audi’s volume in Germany rose 16 percent to 125,091 units and its U.S sales increased 15  percent. Mercedes’ U.S. sales rose 7 percent to 110,926 in the first half while sales in Germany edged up less that a percent to 123,013 unit in the first half.
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