The 2025 US luxury sales battle ended with a clear winner, and it wasn’t close. BMW completed its third consecutive record year with 388,897 vehicles delivered – a 4.7% increase that extended its dominance over a flagging Mercedes-Benz offering. The 85,697 unit gap between the two German rivals shows the real story: While BMW gained momentum in sedans, SUVs and performance models, Mercedes-Benz barely moved with 303,200 cars, an increase of just 1% compared to 2024.
Even more damaging for Stuttgart: Lexus slipped past Mercedes-Benz into second place with 370,260 deliveries, relegating Mercedes to third place in a market they once controlled. Adding 40,000 commercial vehicles brings Mercedes-Benz’s total in the U.S. to 343,200 units – still nearly 46,000 units less than BMW’s passenger car output alone.
The gap widened over the year
BMW’s lead grew larger throughout 2025. In the first half of the year, BMW delivered 178,499 units, while Mercedes only managed 142,000 – a deficit of 36,499 units. In the third quarter, the discrepancy became embarrassing: BMW rose 24.9% to 104,163 units, while Mercedes fell 17% to just 70,800 deliveries in the quarter.
BMW’s strength lay in its product breadth. The
The pure SUV success story from Mercedes-Benz
For Mercedes-Benz, the SUVs lived up to expectations in today’s American market, even if they couldn’t close the gap with BMW. The Alabama-built GLE posted its strongest year ever, growing 14% over 2024, capping the performance with a 12% increase in the fourth quarter. The GLC achieved that energy with a 20% increase over last year, keeping Mercedes-Benz competitive in premium crossovers even as its overall market share declined.
But that’s where the good news ends. Despite a slight recovery in the fourth quarter, the number of commercial vans fell by 14% to just 40,000 units. Car sales barely budged as competitors offered aggressive incentives and introduced new products. While BMW grew in multiple segments, Mercedes-Benz relied almost exclusively on two SUV nameplates to maintain its respectability.
Performance models cannot compensate for volume losses
Mercedes-AMG set a new sales record with growth of 12% and the G-Class exceeded expectations with an increase of 26% and had its best year ever with growth of 26%. The CLE coupe surprised with 53% year-over-year growth, and the entry-level GLA crossover grew 21%.
BMW countered with its own performance success: M model sales rose, SUV deliveries remained strong, and even with a 16.7% decline in pure electric vehicle sales (reflecting the overall weakness of the BEV market in the US following the end of federal stimulus), BMW maintained momentum. Mercedes-AMG’s record year sounds impressive until you realize that BMW posted gains without relying on halo products.
