(February 2, 2011) Mercedes and BMW got a faster U.S. sales start on the new year with their Mercedes-Benz and BMW brands than Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus, which has been the annual leader among luxury brands for 11 years, Bloomberg News reports.

Mercedes' January U.S. sales rose 11 percent from a year ago to 16,398 and BMW reported a 21 percent gain to 15,905, while Lexus said Tuesday sales declined 17 percent to 12,860.

Lexus last year held off BMW and Mercedes to keep the top luxury sales spot in the U.S., a position it hash held since 2000, as both German brands gained ground on the unit sales of Toyota. Now BMW's redesigned X3 SUV is in showrooms and Mercedes is planning to bring out a refreshed C-Class sedan, the brand's volume leader.

The Lexus annual lead over BMW shrank to 9,216 in 2010, less than half the 19,473 gap in 2009. The Japanese automaker's 2010 sales rose 6.2 percent to 229,329. BMW's U.S. sales rose 12 percent to 220,113 in 2010 while Mercedes rose 14 percent to 216,448 for the year.

The results exclude Daimler's Sprinter vans and Smart cars and BMW's Mini brand, which aren't luxury vehicles.

“Lexus had a very strong push through the end of 2010,” Bob Carter, Toyota's group vice president for U.S. sales, said on a conference call Tuesday. “Some business for January got pulled into December.”