In the fourth quarter of 2021, Lexus beat out BMW by a small margin as the top brand for luxury car shoppers. Does this mean BMW needs to start watching its back?
luxury division Lexus, just barely inching out BMW by a fraction of a point. This may not seem like much of an upset, but BMW had a stronghold in the top spot for the last three years.
Unsurprisingly, creeping into the third spot at 18% was
, the young, innovative brand that has been routinely disputing segments of the automotive industry as electric cars gain more and more traction among consumers.
Tesla takes over in luxury car sales
While BMW and Lexus battled it out for consumer endorsement, Tesla outsold them both at an estimated 352,471 units in 2021. BMW came in second at 336,644, and Lexus third with 304,476 units sold.
Once again, BMW was taken down from a long-held number one spot. For the first time ever, the
ousted models by Lexus, Acura, and BMW as most-shopped luxury SUV.
Tesla’s sales were especially impressive, it’s starting to look like the brand’s penchant for taking big risks is finally starting to pay off.
Tesla even outperformed rivals in spite of a global microchip shortage, a true feat considering the gamble taken by the company to scale at such a massive level globally over the last several years.
The brand may start to see some serious competition in the coming years however as more and more brands—BMW included—are making moves to go electric.
MORE: Lamborghini Puts an End to an Era With Their Last Gasoline-Only Vehicle
The how BMW is planning for the future of the luxury segment
The cost of a 30-second commercial in the 2022 Super Bowl rang in at a record high of about $6.5 million, and among the brands willing to shell out for that spot was BMW. Not only that, but the ad was for the all-electric BMW i4 Gran Couple and iX SUV.
The long-awaited cars are a follow-up to the i3, which will cease production in July of 2022. The i3 was ranked third among electric cars sold worldwide from 2014 to 2016. Much of BMW’s marketing budget in 2022 will be devoted to promoting its electric cars, as the Munich-based automaker fights to maintain a stronghold in the newly-changing luxury car segment.
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