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X1, 3 Series power BMW back into global luxury autos sales lead

BMW managed to eke ahead of Audi for the global luxury sales crown in February. According to Bloomberg, BMW saw deliveries swell by 7 percent in February, besting the 3.2 percent jump enjoyed by Audi and giving BMW a 407-unit delivery lead over its rival last month. Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, continued to falter, with the brand selling some 37,229 fewer machines than BMW, whose factories are running at full capacity to keep up with demand. Models like the X1 (shown above) enjoyed a sales increase of 40 percent in February while the company's bread-and-butter 3 Series jumped by 26 percent.
Mercedes-Benz hopes to stem its continued market share loss with the addition of the entry-level CLA sedan to its portfolio in April. The company is set to roll out an updated version of its cash-cow E-Class at the same time, and a new-generation S-Class will follow along shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, the company is increasing production to meet demand for its A and B-Class models.

France formally moves to ban Mercedes vehicles using contested refrigerant

That didn't take long. Shortly after a French administrative court gave the French government a ten-day window to reconsider its ban on registrations of Mercedes-Benz A-, B- and CLA-Class cars using the prohibited R134a refrigerant, the government cited an EU directive to formalize banning the sale of the cars. The country's environmental ministry said that registrations "will remain forbidden in France as long as the company does not to conform to European regulations," meaning so long as they do not use the approved R1234yf refrigerant.
Daimler had won the administrative court decision by challenging France's application of a "safeguard" provision in which the EU allows a country to block sales of cars that would "seriously harm the environment." In spite of Daimler's victory, France has cited that very provision as basis for the continuation of the ban.
Daimler got permission from Germany's KBA federal motor authority to keep selling cars with the coolant banned by EU politicians, and is using that national permission as the right to sell the cars throughout Europe. Meanwhile, above that battle, German politicians are asking the EU to let Mercedes sell the cars in France while the KBA does more testing, at the same time as the EU is threatening Germany with repercussions if it doesn't bring the KBA and Daimler into line.

Mercedes spotted prepping new S63 AMG Cabrio

If the market for convertibles is on the decline, nobody seems to have told the fellas over at Mercedes-Benz. The German automaker keeps adding more droptops to its lineup, and soon it will have one more on its hands in the form of the new S-Class Cabriolet. And here we have photos of the new flagship cabrio getting ready for its big debut – but not in just any old form. This would appear to be the new S63 AMG convertible. As the S-Class Coupe is already out there in various states of tune, we're not expecting any major surprises from the new convertible. Look for a folding fabric roof mechanism to open up a spacious four-seat cabin. A car with which Benz can attack the likes of the Bentley Continental GTC especially, but also the Maserati GranTurismo Convertible, Aston Martin DB9 Volante, and the upcoming Rolls-Royce Dawn (the drophead version of the Wraith). The AMG version ought to help that effort even more, complete with Affalterbach's 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8, fully expected to pack the same 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque as the other S63 models. We're anticipating Daimler to take the wraps off the S-Class cabrio at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, but we'll have to wait to see if the AMG version appears alongside it or follows at some later date. Related Video: