BMW claims victory over Mercedes in global luxury car sales race - Autonexa

BMW AG said it beat Mercedes-Benz in global luxury car sales last year, the first time it has trumped its German arch rival since 2015.

"Proudly claiming number one position in the global premium automotive segment for the BMW brand in 2021," wrote Peter Nota, BMW's head of sales, in a LinkedIn post on Monday, crediting the win to the company's product portfolio and operational performance.

BMW has yet to detail full-year sales figures, but deliveries have been ahead of the Daimler AG brand for most of this year. The Munich-based automaker has been less affected by a global semiconductor shortage that has snarled its production lines globally.

Several automakers who signaled that the worst of the chip crisis is over after a difficult third quarter are beginning to drift away from those expectations. Mercedes said on Monday that a meager supply of components will continue to dominate the industry during the first half of the year and urged more capacity to be added globally.

A BMW spokeswoman said it will release its full-year sales numbers on January 12. The automaker delivered 1.7 million BMW-branded vehicles during the first nine months of the year, it said previously, exceeding Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz by more than 112,000 vehicles. 

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