Lexus has been the best luxury car brand in terms of sales in the U.S. since 2000. It appeared a spot no one can take from the Toyota premium range. Despite being considered as the most satisfying and dependable brand, BMW is inching past Lexus for the top spot in terms of year-to-date sales.

The last time BMW held the throne in terms of sales as luxury brand was back in 1997. Based on the study of Autodata Corp., Lexus is going through a sales decline of about 37.2%. The figures of BMW also dropped but not as remarkably as that of the Lexus. BMW suffers a decline of 30.5% from January through May of 2009.

Now, if we translate the numbers into English, Lexus reports sales of about 73186 units while BMW is slightly ahead at 76,819 vehicles.

BWM attributes their success to the performance of their X5, 5-series, and 3-series range. Their fleet edge their Lexus competition this time when the market is very careful in purchasing luxury vehicles. Consumers go for quality, dependability, and the track record of the car manufacturer.

A Lexus spokesperson is not so optimistic and foresees a varying volume of sales throughout the year.

The battle for the best luxury brand for the year is far from being over. Lexus is still waiting how the market will react to their new releases—the HS 250h and the RX SUV.

Maybach and Bentley are the worst performers so far with sales falling as much as 60%.