Mercedes Concedes U.S. Luxury Sales Race

Daimler AG, which aimed to make Mercedes-Benz America's top-selling luxury car brand this year, no longer expects to prevail over BMW AG, Mercedes' U.S. sales chief Steve Cannon tells reporters.

In 2011 BMW took the luxury sales crown from Toyota Motor Co.'s Lexus brand, which had dominated for 11 straight years. Lexus volume was reduced by natural disasters in Asia last year and is still recovering.

Mercedes has led cumulative U.S. luxury vehicle sales all year. But BMW outsold its rival in recent months and is steadily closing the gap. BMW trailed Mercedes by less than 1,900 vehicles for the January-November period. Analysts note that BMW is known for offering hefty incentives every December.

Cannon says Mercedes still expects to sell a record-high 270,000 passenger vehicles in the U.S. this year.