Lexus Gains on German Rivals in U.S. Luxury Sales Race

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand pulled off a surprise upset last month in the hotly contested American luxury sales battle with a 34% surge to 24,200 vehicles.

Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz unit boosted its American passenger vehicle sales to 20,600 units in August, up 11% from a year earlier. Demand for BMW brand vehicles dropped 19% to 16,800 units last month.

Lexus still trails for the January-August period with sales of 150,600 units compared with 168,500 units at Mercedes-Benz and 164,600 units at BMW.

August results expanded Mercedes' lead over BMW to nearly 3,900 units for the year to date compared with a scant 132 vehicles at the end of July.