Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG are spending a combined $280 million to improve their Manhattan showrooms as they race to become the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S.
Mercedes is investing $220 million in a new dealership on 11th Avenue between 53rd and 54th Streets that will feature soaring ceilings and changing light colors when it opens in May. Three blocks away, on 57th Street, BMW is spending $60 million to free up floor space, renovate its store’s facade and make the location more environmentally friendly.
Mercedes is leading BMW by less than a thousand sales this year as they work to overtake Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus as the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S. for the first time in 11 years. Some of both automakers’ best clients are located in Manhattan, said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with TrueCar.com.
“The financial markets are coming back, bonuses are coming back, bankers are doing just fine again,” Toprak, whose firm is based in Santa Monica, California, said in a telephone interview. “Some of the best months historically for both brands had been whenever the bankers get their Christmas bonuses.”
Mercedes sold 53,346 vehicles in the US in the first three months of the year, topping BMW’s 52,617 deliveries.
