(December 3, 2015) BMW is closing in on its second consecutive luxury sales title in the U.S. after the November sales numbers were tallied.  Sales for BMW branded vehicles rose 3.2 percent to 32,003 in November, as deliveries of the X3 sport utility vehicle more than doubled. For the year, BMW's U.S. sales grew 4.4 percent to 311,398 vehicles.

Mercedes, in its U.S. sales report released on Wednesday, said November luxury sales fell 13 percent to 30,043 vehicles. For the year, Mercedes' U.S. sales have increased 4 percent to 308,885 vehicles. The results for Mercedes were delayed by a day because of a technical glitch.

Lexus remained in a close third, with U.S. sales growing 7 percent to 29,340 vehicles in November. For the year, Lexus sales have surged 12 percent to 303,221 vehicles.

The November results mean Lexus is unlikely to catch BMW for the year, said Eric Lyman, TrueCar vice president of industry insights. “It’s something they could manage if they were willing to go nuts on incentives. But I can’t see them doing that just to get the sales crown.”

BMW, which won the 2014 title, widened its year-to-date lead over Mercedes to 2,513 vehicles from 555 at the end of October.

The November sales increased BMW’s lead over Lexus to more than 8,000.

Sources: Industry sales figures, Automotive News