Luxury car sales climb higher during down economy

Surprisingly enough, luxury car sales are climbing. The economy may seem dismal, but car sales in general are beginning to increase. One of the few luxury car brands that didn’t post a gain was Volvo. The embattled Swedish car line has seen sales slip. Mercedes Benz has gained the edge overall, finally overtaking Lexus in sales for the first time in months. U.S. domestic luxury brands Cadillac and Lincoln have seen huge increases as well.

Luxury car sales increase

After several years of dismal economic news, perhaps the rich are feeling lucky enough to buy new cars. Several luxury brands have posted enormous gains. Cadillac has posted a gain of 43.8 percent in the first nine months of 2010, according to USA Today. During that time, other luxury brands also posted big gains. Infiniti, Acura, Audi and Porsche all sold nearly 25 percent more cars since September, 2009. BMW and Lexus both increased sales by almost 10 percent since September, 2009, and even Lincoln, a nearly forgotten brand, had an increase of more than 6 percent in that time. Ford Motor Co. is turning attention to Lincoln in the new year. Only Volvo did not post an increase in sales for luxury vehicles.

Mercedes outsells Lexus

Sales have increased for luxury cars greatly over the past year, but September, 2009, saw a significant drop in auto sales overall. Though Cadillac may have posted a 43.8 percent gain for 2010 so far, since September, 2009, it has only increased sales by 11 percent, according to Automotive News. Mercedes managed to sell the most luxury cars since that time, increasing sales by 22 percent since January of 2010. Lexus sold more cars by volume than Mercedes until September, when Mercedes managed to sell more cars than Lexus overall.

Fewer incentives

Sales incentives among luxury brands are not being offered as much anymore. Despite those obstacles, more people are buying high end autos and getting larger auto loans — a sign of greater economic confidence.