BMW or Daimler: Which was the best-selling luxury auto brand in 2018?

KUALA LUMPUR: BMW Group and Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) are two of the best-selling premium automobile brands in the world. However, as claimed by the two, both are number one in terms of units sold in 2018.

BMW Group earlier reported that it has achieved a total sales of 2,490,664 units, which makes it the top-selling premium automobile brand. However, Daimler had announced yesterday that with a total sales of 2,252,800 units, it is the number one premium auto brand. Although BMW Group seems to be actually on top, the story is entirely different when you go into further details.

The 2,490,664 units sold by the BMW Group include Rolls-Royce and Mini cars too. In that context, Daimler sold far more cars than BMW as it collectively sold 3.4 million units, with trucks, buses, and vans included. Hence, the 2,252,800 units do not include them and not even the Maybach and AMG models.

This means that in terms of car sales, Mercedes-Benz Cars takes a big lead over BMW Cars. The numbers suggest that BMW sold 2,325,098 cars in 2018, while Mercedes-Benz sold 2,382,800. However, it is to be taken into account that a considerable chunk of the total sales of Mercedes cars is derived from the cab fleet and Government civil services. BMW too has its share of fleet sales, but the percentage of private car sales is much higher.

The bottom line goes like - Daimler is the top premium car manufacturer of 2018 if we are considering 4-wheeler sales only. On the other hand, BMW Group’s official sales number is higher since it includes a contribution from BMW Motorrad as well.