BMW Vs. Mercedes U.S. Sales Race: There's A Clear Leader In 2025
With the first half of the year behind us, we have a clearer idea of which manufacturers are leading the 2025 sales race and which ones are struggling. In the luxury segment, we already know that BMW is crushing Audi; the former sold twice as many cars as its rival in the first six months.
But what about Mercedes-Benz? We've had to wait a bit longer for Mercedes to post sales, but now it has. While it is performing much better than Audi, Mercedes sales are down in the United States relative to last year, and it's some way off of BMW's numbers. Let's take a closer look.In the USA alone, Mercedes has sold 142,000 cars in the first half of the year, a drop of 6% year-on-year. By comparison, BMW sold 178,499 units and saw a 1.6% increase in sales over the same period. Audi is in a distant third spot, notching up 81,951 units, a drop of 12%. BMW, therefore, is the only one of the three that has been able to grow this year.
In terms of van sales in the USA, Mercedes has sold 15,700 of those so far in 2025, a massive 42% drop.
"Overall, we see good customer demand in the U.S. and Germany for our products including our Top-End vehicles, despite tariffs impacting our global sales in the second quarter,' said Mathias Geisen, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes Benz Group AG. Marketing & Sales.
It was a better Q2 for Mercedes USA, though, with 74,600 cars sold, an increase of 11% compared to Q1 2025.
View the 3 images of this gallery on the original article
Unlike BMW and Audi, Mercedes-Benz does not report individual sales per model. The brand only provides broader insights and sales figures, so a direct comparison with its rivals is tricky.
The manufacturer pointed out that demand for its top-end models was strong, but did not go into more detail about how much each model sold. This segment includes models like the Mercedes-Maybach S, S-Class, EQS, G-Class, EQS SUV, and high-performance Mercedes-AMG models. Competing models from BMW, such as the 7 Series and X7, are both up in sales in 2025.
Mercedes' top-selling car globally is still the GLC, while its stylish new CLE is selling strongly globally, too. Plug-in hybrid sales were up 34% globally in Q2, and in Europe, the share of electrified models hit 40%.
Still, Mercedes is 36,499 models adrift of BMW in the first six months in the USA, and at this rate, it's unlikely to steal the luxury crown back from BMW. A lot can happen in six months, though, so we'll keep on eye on how these brands weather the tariff storm.
BMW Vs. Mercedes U.S. Sales Race: There's A Clear Leader In 2025 first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 9, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
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