BMW overtakes Lexus to be top-selling luxury brand so far this year in U.S.

BMW was the top-selling brand for a full year was back in 1997. But since 2000 Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus has been sitting on top of the US luxury brand market. Now things are going to change. The king may be coming back! It’s reported that BMW has overtaken Lexus to become the best-selling premium marque in the United States so far this year.

Lexus hit high ratings in both dependability and satisfaction surveys, however, Lexus is suffering from a sales decline of 37.2% this year, according to data compiled by Autodata Corp. BMW sales are down this year as well but not as severely as those of Lexus, with the German automaker’s figures dipping 30.5% to 76,819 for the first five months of this year, which is slightly ahead of Lexus's 73,186. The worst performance luxury brands, incidentally, were Bentley and Maybach, both of which are experiencing sales declines in excess of 60%

BMW claims that dependability and enduring quality have been the reasons why they became number 1 in sales during the early part of this year with the 3-series, 5-series and X5 range making most of the sales numbers.

"We have been seeing, all year, customers remain cautious, and when they shop for premium products, they are buying brands that have a history of value, dependability and enduring quality," BMW’s U.S. chief Jim O'Donnell told The Detroit News. "This has helped sales in our core 3-series, 5-series and X5 range."

But the year is not over yet. Lexus has recently launched its new RX SUV and the new HS 250h compact hybrid is also due to hit the streets in coming months. Who will be the winner is still uncertain.