Mercedes-Benz is the king of the hill, with the sales skyrocketing and expanding the lead over main rival BMW by 57,985 cars in the first nine months of 2016, according to the data released by the manufacturers.
Mercedes-Benz was planning to become the best-selling premium car company in the world by 2020, but they seem to be doing it already, putting the car with the star on top for the first time since 2005.
Mercedes has got the attention of a younger range of customers with its updated line-up, including the GLC Coupe and the compact GLA. BMW isn’t wasting any time and is throwing the newly revamped 5-Series sedan on the market, to rival the world’s most intelligent business limousine, E-Class, fitting it with new safety and driver assistance systems. But the E has already hit the road, while the new 5-Series will hit the showrooms in February. It is the company’s chance to take on the Stuttgart brand, after its top-of-the-line 7-Series failed to beat the S-Class in the sales race.
“Profitability remains our primary focus,” BMW’s head of sales Ian Robertson said in a statement on Thursday.
The race is on in the zero emissions department as well, with Mercedes, BMW and Audi outlining a major step. But again, Mercedes seems to be ahead of any other rival, by launching the electric concept SUV with a 500-kilometer range going under the name of Generation EQ.
BMW’s global sales went up by 9.4% to 197,419 cars in September, boosting the nine-month total by 6 percent to 1.48 million vehicles. The same interval marked a double figure for Mercedes-Benz though, with sales going up by 12.1% to 211,286 cars handed over in September, lifting the total by 11.7 percent to 1.54 million. Audi can hardly keep up with them, but holds on tight to its third place, with 1.41 million cars delivered in 2016.
