Mercedes May End 2010 Behind Lexus, BMW in U.S. Sales

Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand may sell fewer luxury vehicles in the U.S. this year than Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s namesake BMW brand, a Mercedes executive said.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll be No. 3,” Ernst Lieb, president of Mercedes-Benz’s U.S. unit, told reporters yesterday at an event in Detroit. Mercedes and BMW this year have narrowed the gap in luxury cars and sport-utility vehicle sales with Lexus, which has held the top spot in the U.S. since 2000.