Tough Times for the Premium Segment: All three German premium brands—Audi, BMW, and Mercedes—reported declines in the first half of 2025, but BMW remains the leader. BMW boasts an increase in sales of M models, maintaining its position as the undisputed leader in the sports model segment.
Mercedes: 6% Drop in Total Sales, 19% Drop in EVs
Mercedes sold 900,000 units in the first half of 2025, a 6% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. Out of these, only 75,700 units were electric models (-19%), representing a dismal share of just 8.5% of total sales. On the other hand, the situation is much better regarding PHEV (plug-in hybrid) sales, which remained steady at 180,800 units (0% change), making up an excellent 20% of total sales. Thus, Mercedes sold a total of 256,500 electrified models in the first half of 2025.
All market segments are declining: Top End down 5%, Core down 4%, and Entry down 12%. In the Entry segment, Mercedes sold only 232,800 units, 12% less than the same period in 2024. This drop is attributed to the generational shift in the compact class, with the new CLA set to arrive in showrooms soon.
By region, sales are down across the board: Europe -3%, Asia -11%, and North America -6%.
BMW Remains the Leader Despite a Slight Decline in Sales
BMW remains the clear leader in the premium segment, even though sales have declined for the first time in recent years. BMW sold 1,070,814 units in the first half of 2025, down 2.3% from the first half of 2024, but it has widened its lead over Mercedes. The gap between the two brands is now over 170,000 units, and if this trend continues, BMW is on track to finish 2025 with a lead of over 300,000 units.
BMW does not report Mini and BMW sales separately by region. However, since the Mini brand saw a significant 17.3% increase in the first half of 2025—reaching 133,778 units—combined BMW and Mini sales were up in some regions: +8.2% in Europe and +3.4% in America. Only in Asia did sales decline, by 11.1%.
There is, however, a specific statistic for the U.S. market showing that BMW sold 178,499 units in the first six months, compared to 142,000 for Mercedes and only 81,591 for Audi, which is now in its 12th consecutive year of decline.
BMW is also performing strongly in electrified vehicle sales, with the Bavarian brand finding 318,949 customers for these models in H1 2025, marking an 18.5% increase. Of those, 220,540 units (+15.7%) were electric models—three times more than Mercedes!
In contrast, Mercedes leads in PHEV models with 180,800 units, compared to BMW’s 98,409 units.
BMW M sales are increasing
Mercedes does not report AMG sales separately; instead, they are combined with sales of the S-Class, EQS, G-Class, and GLS. In total, Mercedes sold 129,900 Top End segment units, while BMW sold 105,939 M models (+6.5%). It is evident that BMW sold more M models than Mercedes sold AMG models, as the S-Class, EQS, G-Class, GLS, and Maybach together account for more than 25,000 units of the 129,900 Top End units sold.
Audi has not yet published its Q2 2025 sales data and is expected to release them on July 28, 2025. Therefore, we are currently publishing the results of BMW, Mercedes, and Audi only for the U.S. market, with a full update to follow in 10 days.
| Audi | BMW | Mercedes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales sem I 2025 | na | 1,070,814 | 900,000 | |
| Europe | na | 497,778* | 308,300 | |
| from which Germany | na | 135,182* | 98,100 | |
| North America | na | 237,167* | 157,500 | |
| from which US | 81,591 | 193,091* | 142,000 | |
| Asia | na | 438,294* | 389,000 | |
| from which China | na | 317,862* | 293,200 | |
| Electrified models | na | 318,949 | 256,500 | |
| – fully electric models | na | 220,540 | 75,700 | |
| – PHEV models | na | 98,409 | 180,800 | |
| The BMW sales on regions include also MINI sales. |
The BMW sales on regions include also MINI sales.