X7 Helps BMW Beat Mercedes in U.S. Sales for the First Time Since 2015

Total global sales will take a little while longer to arrive, but U.S. numbers are now showing BMW was the top dog in luxury sales last year. This is a title held by Mercedes since 2016, and it obviously has a lot to do with SUVs. By the way, the gap between them is relatively substantial at 8,732 units. Note that these results don't include MINI or smart.

BMW sold 35,746 during the month of December, up 4% from the same month of 2018. For the full year, the company registered 324,826 units, 4.4% more than the year before. While CNBC says the decline of the brand was due to a lack of initiative in the EV and compact car segments, that seems to be a false statement.

The Bavarians hit really hard in a couple of important segments. For example, the 3 Series came out in February, making it difficult for you to buy another C-Class. The X5 is also pretty new, and for some reason, we think it's way better than the Mercedes equivalent, the GLE.

The X3 was up 14%, while the stylish new X4 increased in demand by a massive 103%. However, the all-new X7 full-size SUV probably clinched the victory. It managed 21,574 sales in just a few months, finally retaliating against the Mercedes GLS-Class.

“We’ve talked a lot over the course of the past two years about having the right product mix for the market, and we believe that with all of our recent launches, we have just that,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, president and CEO, BMW of North America. “BMW currently has the youngest and most exciting product portfolio in the segment. We are very pleased with our results in 2019 and wish to thank both our customers and dealers for their tremendous support.”