[King T]

U.S. Small And Midsize Luxury Car Sales - 2014 Year End

Combined, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Lexus ES sold slightly more often in the United States than the BMW 3-Series/4-Series lineup.

The C-Class is America's second-best-selling premium brand car; the ES ranks third.

Yet so dominant is the 3-Series that it sells about as often as its two most popular alternatives combined. Indeed, in more direct rival terms, the C-Class and Audi A4 didn't combine to sell nearly as often as the BMW in 2014. (The ES is really targeting a different buyer.)

BMW continues to expand its range of offerings under the 3 and 4-Series' banners. There are now multiple four-door options, for example. Lacking some of the sharpness of older 3-Series', the car continues to trade on its reputation for sportiness while catering to the comfort-minded whims of thousands of buyers.

It's working.

For the bigger 5-Series and 7-Series, however, BMW's methods have not met with massive U.S. success of late. After levelling off in 2013, 5-Series volume fell 7% in the United States in 2014, a year in which the auto industry produced 6% gains and the car market itself improved by nearly 2%. (Unable to match the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, 7-Series volume was down 2% in 2014 after falling in 2011, 2012, and 2013.) BMW has also forged ahead with a two-door approach to the entry-level market. As Mercedes-Benz sold 27,365 CLAs in 2014 and Audi sold 22,250 A3s, BMW sold 7345 copies of the 2-Series.

Nevertheless, BMW USA set an annual sales record in 2014. Thank the 3-Series, and thank the SAVs. BMWs five-model X lineup was up 8%, forming just under one-third of all BMW sales.