Strange times indeed. While BMW simultaneously issues a profit warning, primarily citing woes in China and U.S. tariffs major pain points, the brand also has cause for celebration. Bavaria managed to reclaim its sales throne in Q3 2025, usurping Lexus as the number one luxury automaker in the United States. The brand moved 96,886 vehicles, a fairly wide gap from 91,609 Lexus sold. The third quarter sales represent a 25% increase from this time last year.
What drove growth? Well, like with BMW’s global sales results — which were similarly strong — the brand’s excellent hybrid models did a lot of the heavy lifting. Plug-in hybrid models rose 37% in the U.S. in Q3. It’s a remarkable feat, considering BMW only sells a handful of PHEVs. Furthermore, most of them are hardly high-volume badges — e.g., no 3 Series or X3. In the U.S., the brand offers the 550e xDrive, X5 xDrive50e, 750e xDrive, M5, and BMW XM Label. Regardless, enough well-heeled shoppers were clearly convinced, and the gain in PHEVs offset a 16% drop in EV sales. That’s not to say that BMW hasn’t sold any EVs, though. Nationally, the brand started Q4 with a 28-day supply of EVs, down from 65 days in mid-2025.
Lexus, meanwhile, is on track for a record year, with outlooks currently sitting at 355,000 vehicles total. The redesigned GX, a body-on-frame mid-size SUV with off-road capabilities, and the even larger Lexus TX are credited with doing most of the legwork for the brand. TX sales numbers surged 86% year-over-year, hampered last year due to an airbag issue. Even GX sales are up 35%, which is incredible when you consider the truck has been out for three model years already.
The Other Guys
Of course, both brands absolutely trounced another German brand — Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes only managed to move 73,500 vehicles last quarter, a downturn of 13% relative to last year. The brand still occupies third place, albeit with an enormous gap of almost 20,000 cars. The gap stays consistent as we move down to fourth and fifth place; both Audi and Cadillac sold around 46,500 vehicles in Q3. That actually represents a dramatic increase for Cadillac. The GM-owned automaker celebrated its best third quarter ever.
Overall, BMW looks good heading into Q4 2025, or at least as good as an automaker can in these crazy times. With sales lagging in China and no real end in sight, the success in Europe and the Americas has to be welcome. While BMW has already updated guidance for the remainder of 2025, we expect to learn even more when BMW releases its Q3 Quarterly Statement in November.
Source: Automotive News