Mercedes world sales outpace BMW in first quarter

Mercedes-Benz has boosted sales twice as fast as BMW in the first quarter, moving closer to clinching the lead in the world’s luxury-car market for the first time in a decade.

The Daimler unit’s deliveries soared 13% to 483,487 vehicles in the three months through March, compared with a 6% rise to 478,743 cars for the BMW brand. Sales of compact cars such as the A-Class hatchback rose 26% to more than 150,000, Mercedes said.

Volkswagen’s Audi ranked third at 455,750 vehicles sold, a gain of 4% from a year earlier. Buoyed by the popularity of all-new models such as the GLC sport utility vehicle, Mercedes is on course to overtake BMW in annual sales earlier than its 2020 target.