Lexus trails German rivals in US luxury sales in first quarter

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LOS ANGELES, Apr 03 (Bloomberg): Daimler AG (DAI)'s Mercedes-Benz topped Toyota Motor Corp. (7203)'s Lexus in the US in March, marking a third straight month the Japanese brand has failed to come out on top after winning the annual luxury race for 11 years. Mercedes U.S. deliveries, boosted by sales of its E-Class and C-Class sedans, rose 9.4 per cent to 21,484 compared to the same month last year, the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker said yesterday in a statement. Lexus sales rose 2.3 per cent to 20,682 from a year ago while Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW)'s namesake brand reported a 12 per cent gain to 20,295. March's results combined with January and February make Mercedes the leader for the year so far by 729 sales over BMW and 5,990 over Lexus. Mercedes in the first quarter sold 53,346 vehicles. BMW, which is based in Munich, sold 52,617 and Lexus 47,356. The results exclude Daimler's Sprinter vans and Smart cars and BMW's Mini brand, which aren't luxury vehicles. The ongoing disruption on factory operations in Japan following last month's earthquake means the Lexus brand may not be able to retain its rank as the top-selling U.S. luxury brand, Mark Templin, head of U.S. Lexus sales, said yesterday. "That may not happen as a result of production issues in Japan," he said in a conference call. He declined to say whether he expected competitors such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz to capitalize on the Lexus inventory situation. "You'll have to ask them," Templin said. All Lexus models, except for RX sport-utility vehicles, are produced only in Japan. Templin said he's getting daily updates on what to expect in terms of inventory, without elaborating.