Daimler Raises Margin Outlook for Mercedes-Benz Division

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Daimler Raises Margin Outlook for Mercedes-Benz Division

Christoph Rauwald
·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG hiked expected returns for its Mercedes-Benz unit as surging demand in China drives a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the rollout of vaccination campaigns gains traction.

The world’s biggest luxury carmaker said operating returns for the passenger cars and vans division could reach between 10% to 12% this year, Daimler said Friday in a statement. That’s up from a previous goal of 8% to 10%.

“After this promising start, we are very confident that we can keep up the pace to improve our margins on a sustainable basis and at the same time expand our electric vehicle line-up,” Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm said. The manufacturer also said a planned spinoff of its trucks unit was “well on track.”

Mercedes this month revved up its electric-car rollout with the new flagship EQS sedan, the battery sibling to the S-Class, as traditional carmakers broaden their attack on Tesla Inc.’s lead. Its planned trucks spinoff will also help the carmaker better tackle the diverging technology trends in the passenger-car and commercial-vehicle industries. The surprise decision earlier this year has helped lift Daimler’s shares by more than a quarter.

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