BMW skewing sales numbers?

[SVT666]

BMW allegedly resorted to a bit of trickery to keep its status as top luxury brand in the US for 2015.

The company is said to have offered incentives to dealers to buy vehicles from its fleet of loaners, paying as much as $1,750 per vehicle to participate in the scheme, according to a Bloomberg report.

The practice is not unheard of, though one dealer described BMW as particularly 'aggressive' in its pursuit of such sales. BMW acknowledges putting pressure on dealers to keep their loaner fleets stocked with new vehicles, allowing customers to experience the brand's latest offerings when they bring an older vehicle in for service.

"We encourage our dealers to renew their loaner fleet regularly -- the newest models with the latest innovations -- and have a full range of BMW models on hand," the company said in a statement.

BMW's self-reported sales reached 346,023 units in the US last year, around 1,400 vehicles more than Lexus and 2,935 units ahead of Mercedes-Benz.

Interestingly, registration data collected by research firm Polk showed Lexus in the lead with 340,392, Mercedes in second place with 3,104 and BMW in third place with 335,259. An analyst suggested the discrepancy could be explained by end-of-year purchases going unregistered until 2016, though the numbers should be partially rebalanced by late-2014 purchases tallied in the 2015 registrations.

Individual exports were cited as another contributing factor, as international buyers come to the US to purchase a vehicle and ship it back home without ever registering in any US state.

A similar dispute dates back to 2012 when BMW's self-reported sales topped Mercedes-Benz, despite Polk registration data showing the opposite. A Mercedes-Benz executive at the time pointed out that self-reported volumes are easier to manipulate than registration data.

[CaminoRacer]

Mercedes only sold 3,104 cars?

[cawimmer430]

Mercedes only sold 3,104 cars?