For the past few months it ‘s become increasingly clear that BMW and Mercedes would end up uncomfortably close in the sales race for the US luxury market. Because of that there ‘s been a huge interest in figures for December as they will complete the 2011 picture. Yet both BMW and Mercedes have yet to blink to show off the final figures.

That hasn ‘t stopped Bloomberg Businessweek for declaring an overall winner based on 3rd party data:

>BMW’s U.S. sales rose 16 percent to 27,000 in December compared to a year earlier, Autodata Corp. estimated yesterday. BMW and Mercedes “are experiencing year-end sales reporting complications,” Autodata said in an e-mail yesterday. The results for those manufacturers were estimated using “credible industry sources,” Autodata said.

We have a hunch we ‘ll see the final results either later today or tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek