BMW tops Audi in May car sales

Strong demand for the compact X1 utility vehicle helped BMW to leapfrog Volkswagen's Audi luxury brand in May sales. BMW and Audi have been jostling for the monthly global sales crown for most of the year.

BMW announced on Monday that its global deliveries increased 7.8 percent to 139,161 vehicle in May, beating out Audi's 6.4 percent growth spurt to 137,200 units. Mercedes-Benz was a distance third with 121,360 May sales, an increase of 7.3 percent over the same month a year prior.

Audi outsold BMW in April and January of this year.

BMW's strong May was helped by a 29 percent increase in demand for its X1 small SUV. BMW's 3-Series was also in hot demand during the month, with sales increasing by 28 percent.

BMW's yearly sales tally currently stands at 651,168 units, or about 11,000 deliveries ahead of Audi. Mercedes trails BMW by about 88,000 sales, according to Bloomberg.

BMW plans to keep its foot on the gas in the coming months to put Audi squarely in its review mirror.

“Our vehicle portfolio continues to be in strong demand and once again our sales volume rose to an all-time high last month,” Ian Robertson, head of BMW's sales and marketing, said in a statement today. “We expect further successful months ahead.”

Both Audi and Mercedes-Benz have vowed to overtake BMW as the worldwide leader in luxury sales by the end of the decade.