Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus said U.S. sales rose 20 percent in October, increasing its lead on Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s namesake brand among luxury models.

Deliveries rose to 19,502 vehicles for Lexus, the Toyota City, Japan-based automaker said today. BMW, second in luxury sales, fell 19 percent to 16,443, the Munich-based company said.

Lexus and Daimler AG’s third-ranked Mercedes-Benz gained on BMW in October. BMW lost ground as unemployment and low consumer confidence have tempered sales of high-end vehicles, said Christopher Hopson, an analyst with IHS Global Insight.

“Consumers are still showing some fiscal austerity right now and may still be cautious until we see better footing,” said Hopson, who is based in Lexington, Massachusetts. “Luxury sales should rise with the economy.”

BMW’s lower sales also reflected limited inventory of 2010 models, which began arriving at dealerships in mid-October October, the company said in a statement.

The results were a second double-digit gain for Lexus after it posted a 12 percent U.S. sales increase in September, while BMW rose 2.1 percent, compared with weak year-earlier results. Lexus sold 168,910 vehicles in the U.S. this year through October, ahead of BMW’s 160,666.

Mercedes-Benz gained in October, with its name brand climbing 21 percent to 18,193 vehicles, the Stuttgart, Germany- based parent company said.

The gain came from “a more stable economic environment relative to last year” and new products such as the GLK-Class sport-utility vehicle, Ernst Lieb, president of the Mercedes- Benz’s U.S. division, said in a statement.

Audi, Lincoln Fall

Volkswagen AG’s luxury Audi division said sales fell 1.1 percent to 7,358 vehicles. Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, said the decline was because of the introduction of a new A4 sedan in October 2008.

Ford’s Lincoln line dropped 9 percent to 6,735 vehicles, the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said in a statement. The automaker’s total sales gained 3.1 percent in the month.

General Motors Co.’s Cadillac sales rose 22 percent in the month to 11,602 vehicles, the automaker said on its Web site.

High-end vehicle sales will probably rise more in December than the year-earlier month because of a steep drop from the slowing economy in 2008, Hopson said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Ortolani in Southfield, Michigan, at aortolani1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 3, 2009 17:25 EST