Mercedes profit plunges on weaker sales

Frankfurt, Germany: German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz on Friday reported a sharp drop in second quarter net profit on weaker sales of electric vehi...

Frankfurt, Germany: German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz on Friday reported a sharp drop in second-quarter net profit on weaker sales of electric vehicles and cooling demand in key market China.

Net profit fell by 15.9 percent compared to the same period last year, to just over 3.0 billion euros ($3.3 billion), the Stuttgart-based group said. Group revenues were down nearly four percent to 36.7 billion euros.

The lacklustre results prompted Mercedes to lower its profit margin target for 2024. It now expects an adjusted return on sales in the range of 10-11 percent, compared with 10-12 percent previously.

The group said the auto sector continued to face "a degree of uncertainty" in terms of the global economic outlook, geopolitical events and trade policy.

Sales of Mercedes cars fell by 3.7 percent to 496,712 units between April and June, which the group said was partly due to "model changeovers" as customers waited for new models to arrive before buying.