In an effort to take the US luxury-sales crown from BMW, Mercedes-Benz is offering some sweet deals.

The German carmaker has told its US dealers they can offer discounts up to $5,000 on the GL-Class SUV for "VIP customers," a distinction to be determined by general managers. The program also includes $750 off C-Class, $2,250 for E-Class, $3,000 for GLK-Class and $3,275 for S-Class vehicles (which also includes 2013 models).

"We limit the number of cars" in the Customer Advocacy Program, says Mercedes spokeswoman Donna Boland in a Bloomberg story. "It is not carte blanche."

While BMW beat both Lexus and Mercedes in 2011 US luxury car sales, Bloomberg says Mercedes leads so far this year by 5,221 units. Experts quoted in Bloomberg's story expect the competition between the two German companies to continue through the end of the year, which could be really good news for luxury car shoppers.

Mercedes-Benz offering up to $5,000 discounts to VIPs originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 03 Nov 2012 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.