The Luxury Brand Sales So Far
By the end of the first quarter of 2026, BMW and Lexus were practically neck and neck in the sales race. A little over 3,300 units separated the two, with the German marque holding the slim advantage. At the time, it was anyone’s race, but both reported slight declines against Q1 2025 figures. It was 84,231 for Bavaria, while it was 80,952 for Aichi.
Now, we’re past the halfway point of the year, and BMW has managed to pull much further ahead of Lexus. Based on official figures, BMW has shifted 186,944 vehicles by the end of the first half, while Lexus had managed 169,712 units. So from a gap of 3,306 units, Germany’s lead has been extended to 17,232 units.
BMW
BMW Sales so Far
For cars and subcompact crossovers, year-to-date sales dipped by 2.5%, although there are some interesting observations for the company’s data sheet. The 3 Series is enjoying a particularly strong run, posting a 32.3% year-on-year increase from 14,157 to 18,731 vehicles.
Another model that did well was the X1, with 15,018 sold versus 13,322 from the same period in 2025, representing a 12.7% improvement. Niche models, such as the Z4 and X2, also saw increases of 47.8% and 30.6%, respectively. Even the 8 Series is enjoying a slight resurgence, just as BMW sunsets in and the Z4.
The 3 Series, 4 Series, and X1 contributed heavily to the sedan and subcompact crossover segments, but the 4 Series isn’t having as great a time as its more formal, upright sibling. The model saw a 33.4% drop from 2025’s mid-year tally, from 32,369 to 15,735. The 5 and 7 Series also declined during the first half of 2026, down 7.1% and 9.2%, respectively.
For compact to large crossovers, the X3 and X5 remain the sales champs by a strong margin. BMW shifted 37,671 X3s so far this year, improving by 29.8%, while the X5 saw 41,554 new owners, up by 23.7%. The X7 remains in third at 12,622 units, but sales are down by 14.2% year-on-year. The slowest-selling BMW remains the XM, with fewer than 800 units so far in 2026. Overall, BMW sales picked up by 4.7% over last year’s first half results.
Lexus Sales so Far
Moving to Lexus, the IS did all the heavy lifting for passenger cars, taking up the bulk of all non-SUV sales for the first half of 2026. It had a strong showing, with 14,071 sold, representing a 42.7% increase over the same period last year. However, Lexus’ passenger car sales fell by 39.2%.
So, what gives? Do note that the RC Coupe has been discontinued, as well as the LS flagship sedan and the LC coupe. That said, those are low-volume models, but what really caused the seemingly alarming downturn is the ES. 2025 was the final model year of the previous generation, and sales of the redesigned eighth-generation model only started about a month ago. While the data says sales dropped by a colossal 79.7%, it’s not because people have simply stopped buying the midsize luxury sedan.
Lexus more than made up for that by selling heaps more SUVs. If anything, its passenger-car sales look almost negligible compared with the higher-riding offerings. The company sold 150,673 SUVs during the first half of the year, compared with just 19,039 cars. The top seller is still the RX, with 59,904 units sold (+13.3%), followed by the NX at 30,763 units (-19.6%), and the TX in third at 30,763 units (11.3%). Despite a good showing from the SUV range, Lexus sales still dipped by 5.2% year-on-year.
Lexus
It Could Still be a Close Fight
Lexus is, at the time of writing, 17,232 units behind BMW, but we wouldn’t call the luxury sales race early. The Japanese automaker was severely handicapped by the lack of meaningful ES sales as it shifted to a new generation, losing crucial ground to BMW.
Depending on the sales reception of the redesigned ES, Lexus might just be able to catch up, or at least get close to BMW. It won’t be easy, but it’ll make for an interesting sales race for the rest of the year.
