Mercedes widens 2013 U.S. luxury lead

DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- Mercedes-Benz sold more than 2,300 of its $29,900 CLA coupe in its first week of availability, helping the brand post a 6.7 percent September gain and widen its U.S. luxury-vehicle lead.

The CLA has been promoted in a television spot featuring actor Willem Dafoe as the devil. Mercedes also boosted E-class deliveries by 17 percent to 5,647 last month. Mercedes sold 24,697 vehicles, according to a statement from parent company Daimler AG.

Deliveries for the BMW brand rose 8.3 percent in September from a year earlier to 23,568, helped by demand for its 7 series, whose deliveries more than tripled, and 5-series sedans, the automaker said.

The September results expanded Mercedes's lead for 2013 to 2,491 vehicles, 215,056 to 212,565, up from a margin of 1,362 through August. BMW has sold the most luxury vehicles in the U.S. the past two years. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said in July he expected his company to come up short again in 2013.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus, the top-selling luxury-auto brand in the U.S. for 11 years through 2010, posted a 4.2 percent decrease in September. Deliveries slid to 19,522, Toyota said today in a statement.

The figures don't include Daimler's cargo vans and Smart cars and BMW's Mini brand, which aren't luxury vehicles.

General Motors said its Cadillac brand sales rose 10 percent during the month to 13,828 vehicles.