Mercedes Widens Lead Over BMW in U.S. Sales Race

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.

But Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand pulled off a surprise upset for the month with a 34% surge to 24,200 vehicles.

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 in the hotly contested U.S. luxury car race to nearly 3,900 units for the year to date compared with a scant 132 vehicles at the end of July.

BMW's decline may have been self-inflicted. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the company padded its July sales by offering U.S. dealers as much as $7,000 to buy demonstration vehicles.

Analysts predicted BMW sales would drop sharply when the incentives expired. The company says August volume was dampened by tight inventories.