Rep Power: 553

The race is coming down to the wire between Mercedes-Benz and BMW. To retain the crown of No. 1 premium brand in Canada, Mercedes has a lead of just 706 units over BMW – 28,265 to 27,559.

That’s a big story. Just as big, says auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers in a note to clients, is the emergence of the German brands, which collectively “keep growing out of proportion with the rest of the market.”

In November, Mercedes Benz was up 16.2 per cent, BMW up 19.6 per cent, Audi up by 30.0 per cent, and Volkswagen up 2.1 per cent. As a group, adds DesRosiers, “the European brands are tracking at an all-time high market share in Canada, breaking 10 per cent as a group for the first time ever.”

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