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Mercedes fights off late BMW surge to claim 2013 luxury sales crown

The king is dead - long live the king. Mercedes-Benz is now your new US sales champion in the fiercely competitive luxury market, deposing the champ BMW, which has enjoyed annual supremacy for the past two years.
Thanks in no small part to the dynamite launch of the new, affordable CLA-Class, not to mention a redesigned E-Class and hot-selling S-Class, Mercedes moved 33,007 units in December alone, while sales in 2013 were up 14 percent, to 312,534. BMW, meanwhile, managed to sell 309,280 units in 2013. It was far from a sure thing for the Stuttgart-based brand, though, as BMW managed to nearly halve its rival's sales lead heading into the last month of 2013.
"We saw record sales, flexed our muscles across the entire product line from top to bottom and brought the customer experience to an all-time high," said Steve Cannon, Mercedes USA's CEO. While we don't have individual figures, it seems at first blush that the CLA was really the car that pushed Mercedes over the top.

BMW spied testing new Alpina B7

Just last month BMW released the 2016 7 Series, ushering in a new era for the Bavarian automaker's flagship luxury sedan. And fans of big European performance sedans know what that means: Yes, a V12 model to follow, and maybe an M Performance variant at some point in the future. But before that, we're getting a new Alpina B7. Spied leaving BMW's test center at the Nurburgring, this camouflaged prototype for the new B7 appears to be wearing Alpina's signature low-key visual enhancements. Those include a subtle aero kit and upgraded rolling stock. Though we're only looking at it from the outside, you can expect the interior to feature some similarly discreet upgrades as well. The bigger question is what Alpina will have done to the new 7 underneath the bodywork. The outgoing B7 packed a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 540 horsepower and nearly as much torque, netting a 0-60 time quoted at 4.3 seconds and an autobahn-crunching top speed of 194 miles per hour. Hardly a slouch, then, but the new Alpina B7 is tipped to pack 600 horsepower or more, which ought to give the high-powered, high-speed, and high-end likes of the Mercedes-AMG S63, Audi S8, Maserati Quattroporte, and Jaguar XJR a run for their considerable money. We smell a battle heating up amidst all that burning rubber and sumptuous leather.

BMW NA chief: US won't get enough i3 EVs to satisfy demand

Nothing boosts the mystique of a new product like a "sold out" sign, and it appears likely that BMW will go that route with its first plug-in sold in the US. The German automaker won't likely import enough of its new i3 plug-in vehicles to meet US demand, Bloomberg News says, citing BMW North America chief Ludwig Willisch. Willisch added that once everything is up and running, the US will be the world's largest market for the i sub-brand of plug-in vehicles, which we know will also include the far racier i8 plug-in hybrid and likely other models as well. The i3 will arrive at US dealerships by the end of May and US dealers are investing $2.5 million in upgrades in part to accommodate the new i sub-brand. Last summer, BMW said its i3 would have a starting price of $41,350, not factoring in government tax credits nor the gas-powered range extender (which tacks on another $3,950). Both versions will be allowed into the high-occupancy-vehicle lanes, even with only one driver, in California though battery-powered version will get the unlimited white sticker (as opposed to limited green one). Check out our review of the i3 here.