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Mercedes-Benz Sales Lead Over BMW Extends, Looks like This Will Be the Year

Alright, so you probably know the story of the three German premium manufacturers. Their headquarters are all within 150 miles of each other, but instead of being good neighbors, they're something of arch enemies. All within the rules of the book, of course.
2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class 1 photo
Photo: Mercedes-Benz
For years, the Bavarians from Munchen have been on top of the sales chart, leading all the other brands that like to call themselves either "premium" or "luxury." As you'd expect, Mercedes-Benz and Audi didn't take it lightly, so both brands have set different timeframes to oust BMW and claim the throne for themselves.

That was happening a few years ago, but BMW managed to hang on during all this time despite being rather discreet regarding the number and importance of new models launched. They released a new 7 Series, but that's not a high-volume car. They have a very good X1 SUV, but it's a rather singular proposition in an otherwise aging lineup. One of its big guns - the new 5 Series - is about to be launched, but by the looks of it, it'll fall into the "evolution" rather than "revolution" category. Its direct competitor from Mercedes-Benz, however, the E-Class, did exactly the opposite.

And the examples could continue. Look at the GLK and the new GLC that replaced it. Look what it did to its compact range with the addition of the CLA four-door coupe and GLA crossover. Should we go on? Alright, then please consider for a moment the GLE Coupe, a model that takes the fight straight to the BMW X6 in a segment where Mercedes was not present before. It looks like Daimler's main brand is pushing all the right buttons at the moment, and that's beginning to show in its global sales figures.

Over the course of last month, Mercedes had a 12 percent rise in worldwide sales to a total number of 156,246 units. Meanwhile, BMW only managed a five percent increase to 142,554 units, while Audi is far behind at 132,350 (accounting for a 2.9 percent increase). The total number of cars sold by Mercedes-Benz throughout 2016 until August now sits at 1.32 million, with BMW trailing with 1.28 million, and Audi guarding the rear with 1.23 million.

To be exact, that's 44,124 cars separating the two brands from each other with just four months left until the end. After a pretty close call in 2015, it looks like this will be Mercedes-Benz's year. Unless, of course, BMW pulls something spectacular, but in the world of car sales, things rarely happen like that.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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