Audi of America reports its first-quarter sales this morning, which means we can unpack the trends facing the German luxury players as Mercedes-Benz and BMW numbers are already out. None of them did particularly well in the first quarter compared to Q1 2025, but one did considerably worse than the rest.Ian Wright/CarBuzz/ValnetBMW and Mercedes-Benz were down 3.9% and 3%, respectively, but Audi really struggled during the first three months, falling 30%. Oddly enough, it was three Audi sedans showing the only growth: the new third-generation A5 (4,372 units in Q1, up 6%), the new sixth-generation A6 (2,026 units, up 9%), and the fourth-generation A3 (2,273 units, up 1%). But there's more to this sales story than just these off-the-cuff numbers.It's been a perfect storm for the German premium brands trying to make ends meet since the Trump administration took over last year and quickly enacted tariffs on imported vehicles, then dismantled the federal tax credit that helped Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz sell the battery-electric vehicles they brought to market to capitalize on what looked like an EV wave some years ago. Keeping all three brands going are their highest-volume offerings – the SUVs, of course – and it certainly helps BMW and Mercedes that much of that production comes from the US and avoids tariffs. Audi BEV Sales Slammed; Pre-Owned Sales Are Up AudiAudi does not have car production in the US (for now) and relies on its Puebla, Mexico, plant to produce its top seller, the Q5, which found 10,100 new owners in the first quarter, down 26% from Q1 2025. Cars from Mexico currently face 25% tariffs, but optimists are hoping that renegotiating the US Mexico Canada Agreement later this year will bring back trilateral free trade while the Trump administration is looking for a better deal. US sales of the Q5 could get a boost (by way of a better business case) if the three nations can come to terms.It's worth noting that the A5 sedan was Audi's next bestseller, even outpacing the SUVs: Q3 (4,256 units, down 20% from Q1 2025), Q7 (3,554 units, down 30%), and Q8 (2,285 units, down 25%). Audi BEV sales have been decimated: Q4 e-tron was down 93% to a mere 90 units in Q1, and the sleek e-tron GT was down 75% to 63 units, while the brand has discontinued the Q8 and Q8 Sportback e-trons and the Q6 e-tron will skip the 2026 model year for a 2027 update. On the upside, Audi sold 164 of the new A6 Sportback e-tron sedans.BMW Are we seeing a legitimate sedan rally for Audi? Perhaps even luxury shoppers are tightening their belts and choosing an A3 instead of a Q3 (saving $3,600 for base price) or choosing an A5 over a Q5 (saving $2,600). That theory finds support in Audi's reporting of a 6% sales increase of certified pre-owned vehicles in Q1, to 12,820 units.That trend line is more murky for BMW and Mercedes, with both disclosing solid results for their SUVs. While BMW sedan, coupe, and roadster sales fell 17.3% in the first quarter compared to Q1 2025, the internal-combustion 3 Series hustled along with 8,189 deliveries, up 10.2%. As dealers prepare for the arrival later this year of the eight-generation Neue Klasse 3 Series and electric i3, perhaps we are seeing 1.99% APR financing and other spiffs nudging sales along from existing inventory. BMW X5 Is No.1; i3 Replacing i4 BMW BMW SUV sales were robust in Q1, with the best-selling X5 moving 18,680 units (up 7.1%), followed by X3 (17,767 units, up a whopping 58.1%), X6 (3,255 units, up 16%) and X2 (1,476, up 12.9%). But there were more losers than winners in Q1: 5 Series (5,489 units, down 26.6%), 7 Series (2,260 units, down 11.6%), X1 (6,598 units, down 4.5%), X7 (6,074 units, down 16%), and the all-electric iX (1,788 units, down 50.7%).The downward trend also reflects the recent departure of the X4. Oddly missing from the Q1 sales tally is the i4 electric sedan, which remains available at BMW showrooms. Its sales are probably clumped with ICE 4 Series sales, which overall fell 49.9% to 5,955 units in the US. When it arrives, the Neue Klasse i3 will basically replace the i4.Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz doesn't report sales for individual models in the US, but it shares info about models doing well. For instance, the GLC and US-built GLE and GLS SUVS were up 22% from Q1 2025 and represented 61% of passenger car retail sales.The automaker also noted double-digit growth for the G-Class, SL roadster, and Mercedes-Maybach (which sees a new S-Class this year), perhaps diffusing our theory that German luxury shoppers are looking for bargains. But on the other hand, Mercedes reports strong interest in the new entry-level CLA sedan, which will see wider availability in the US in the second quarter.As the Q1 numbers are fully tallied, BMW leads the group with 84,231 US deliveries, over 70,000 units for Mercedes, and 29,886 for Audi. While all three lost US sales in 2025, BMW managed to be up in Q1 and Q3 2025, while Mercedes was up in Q2 2025. Audi never showed US sales growth in any quarter last year. But all three automakers have new vehicles in the pipeline launching this year or next in the US, so they're looking for better times.