Last year in 2017, Mercedes finished as the top-selling luxury automaker in the US for the second year in a row, beating out rival automaker BMW in the process. This year, Mercedes and BMW were neck-and-neck with the lead standing at just 319 vehicles at one point in the year. While the end result wasn't as slim, the final tally was separated by just over 4,000 units. For the third straight year, Mercedes retained the luxury sales crown with 315,959 units sold in the US while BMW finished second with 311,014 units. Lexus finished third with 298,310 units and Audi came in a distant fourth with 223,323 units.

Mercedes continued its dominance with the help of its three best-selling models, the GLC, C-Class, and E-Class. The X3 was the best-selling BMW, followed by the X5. In fact, the X3 and X5 combined to represent two out of every five BMW models sold in the month of December and SUVs overall accounted for 63% of the brand's monthly sales. We expect this number to grow even higher this year with the introduction of the X7.

BMW seems poised to take back the luxury sales crown in 2019 with a slew of new model introductions. "Our optimism for 2019 is based on solid facts including the continued strong sales of the 5 Series, with the 5 Series PHEV as the best-selling luxury plug-in hybrid vehicle in the US. Now, the all-new X5 is making a strong impact in its first two months in the market and we are looking forward to the arrival of the all-new X7, and the highly anticipated launch of the all-new 3 Series in the months ahead," said Bernhard Kuhnt, President and CEO, BMW of North America

Mercedes won't just give up the sales crown without a fight, as it too has planned a product offensive for 2019. "Despite the delayed availability of some of our most popular models in 2018, we achieved a solid closing of the year thanks to the excellent work of our dealers. We are excited to welcome the next chapter of our product offensive including the all-new A-Class, GLE, and AMG GT 4-Door Coupe in the coming months," said Dietmar Exler, president, and CEO of Mercedes USA. "With the youngest and most comprehensive lineup in the luxury segment, we will continue to advance our position in the marketplace."