BMW gains ground on Mercedes in US luxury car race

New York

BMW AG topped its rival in the US luxury car market for the first time this year, eking out a monthly sales increase and gaining ground on Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz.

Deliveries of the X3 and X5 sport utility vehicles climbed 43 per cent and 35 per cent last month, respectively, pacing BMW's total sales of 31,015 vehicles. The Munich-based carmaker outsold Mercedes by about 1,900 units in March.