FRANKFURT, Germany,
German premium carmaker Mercedes-Benz reported plunging third-quarter profit Wednesday, hit by weak sales in China as well as US tariffs.
Net profit at the Stuttgart-based company fell 30.8 per-cent to hit 1.19 billion euros ($1.38 billion), beating analyst expectations of 1.09 billion euros in a poll by financial data firm FactSet.
“Our third-quarter results are in line with our full-year guidance,” Mercedes-Benz boss Ola Kaellenius said.
In July, the firm lowered its outlook for the year after US President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught and said it expected revenue for 2025 to be “significantly below” the 146 billion euros it took in last year.
Car exports from the European Union are subject to a tariff of 15 per-cent under an EU-US deal unveiled in late July, down from 27.5 per-cent but far higher than the 2.5 per-cent in force before Trump launched his trade war in April.
Mercedes-Benz—which has a plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama—also has to grapple with US duties of 25 per-cent on imports of car parts that come from outside North America.
Sales by volume in key market China, meanwhile, fell 27 per-cent in the third quarter, helping drag overall sales down 12 per-cent.
The country—also the world’s largest car market—has become a battleground for German carmakers amid a brutal price war and fierce competition from local players like BYD.
-BSS/AFP
