BMW Tops Mercedes in Luxury Sales It was a December to remember for most luxury automobile sales operations in the United States, with BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Porsche, Audi and others all reporting particularly strong finishes to an already good 2012. The sales crown, and the bragging rights, went to the BMW Group, which includes Mini. It broke away from a tight sales race with Mercedes-Benz in the final month, selling 43,855 units in December, pushing the final 2012 tally to 347,583 vehicles, the automaker said, up 13.8 percent from 2011. That was BMW's best year in the United States since 2007. Sales of BMW brand models alone rose 13.5 percent compared with 2011, to 281,460 vehicles. Mercedes-Benz USA, which includes Sprinter Vans and Smart, reported its best sales year ever, with 305,072 vehicles sold, up 15.4 percent from 2011. About 31,370 vehicles were moved in December. Sales of Mercedes brand vehicles were 274,134 in 2012, up 11.8 percent. Audi also enjoyed its best year in the United States, with sales of 139,310 vehicles, up 18.5 percent over 2011, with a record 14,841 sold in December. Lexus also saw a big improvement in December, to finish with 132,741 units sold, a 31.2 percent increase over 2011. Acura sales were up 26.7 percent from 2011, Infiniti was up 21.8 percent and Porsche sales rose 21 percent. While most luxury brands had a good year, the two American luxury brands were exceptions; sales fell 1.7 percent for Cadillac for the year, while Lincoln was off 4.1 percent. The otherwise strong luxury car sales year augurs well for 2013, Ludwig Willisch, BMW North America's chief executive, said in a press release, "making us strongly confident and optimistic as we enter 2013."