Lexus sales rose 8.1 percent to 21,091 vehicles, the Toyota City, Japan-based automaker said yesterday in a statement. On Nov. 2, BMW reported a 17 percent gain to 19,272 and Mercedes posted an increase of less than 1 percent to 18,351.
Lexus, the top-selling U.S. luxury brand since 2000, is being challenged this year as Toyota copes with record recalls and as Mercedes and BMW benefit from new models. Lexus more than doubled average incentive spending in October to $2,152 a vehicle from $923 a year earlier, according to TrueCar.com, an auto pricing website.
The Toyota unit has been “much more aggressive than they’ve ever been,” Jim O’Donnell, president of BMW’s North American unit, said in a telephone interview. “We’ve now got Lexus joining the fray where they’ve always stood on the sideline and sort of watched.”
U.S. sales for this year through October totaled 183,529 for Lexus, 178,080 for Mercedes and 176,736 for Munich-based BMW, the global leader in luxury-vehicle deliveries.
The totals don’t include non-luxury models such as BMW’s Mini cars or Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler’s Smart cars and Sprinter vans.
Lexus Continues To Outsell
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