BMW takes the luxury sales lead in the U.S.

Halfway into 2021, the race for the luxury sales crown in the United States has a new leader. BMW moved to the front in the second quarter, powered by strong demand for SUVs.

At the mid-year mark, BMW outsold rival Mercedes-Benz by 7,348 units. That is quite a reversal of fortunes from a year ago when Mercedes had a 16,795 unit lead over BMW.

Mercedes also led after the first quarter, with Lexus No. 2 and BMW No. 3.

The luxury vehicle segment has roared back to life in the U.S. from the COVID lockdown doldrums a year ago. Total luxury sales rose 63 percent to 624,414 cars and light trucks in the second quarter, outpacing the broader industry's 49 percent increase, even amid tightening inventories. First-half luxury sales rose 42 percent.

BMW captured the U.S. luxury crown in 2019 and 2020 after Mercedes had a three-year run atop the rankings.

In the second quarter, BMW sold 96,561 vehicles, up 90 percent from a year earlier. Crossovers accounted for 60 percent of BMW's quarterly sales.

Lexus saw its sales climb 65 percent to 83,459 vehicles in the quarter. Lexus sold 28,703 RX midsize crossovers for the period — nearly half of the brand's total light-truck volume.

Mercedes-Benz, which had gotten off to a brisk start by taking the lead in the first quarter, slipped to third place in the second quarter.

Mercedes delivered 82,390 vehicles, excluding commercial vans in the second quarter, up 39 percent from a year earlier. The midsize GLE crossover led, with sales of 19,037, followed by the GLC compact crossover, with 14,580.

Tesla sold an estimated 73,300 cars and crossovers — a 97 percent increase in second-quarter sales.

Among other luxury brands, Audi reported sales of 66,995 in the quarter, up 92 percent from a year earlier.

Volvo's second-quarter sales rose 54 percent to 36,515, propelled by demand for plug-in models. The Swedish brand's share of Recharge models — vehicles with full-electric or plug-in hybrid powertrains — surged to 51 percent of June sales in California. Recharge models represented 20 percent of total sales in the U.S. last month.

Genesis sales spiked 209 percent to 11,076. Meanwhile, Porsche reported quarterly U.S. sales of 18,958 vehicles, a 55 percent uptick from the same time last year.