Shares in Mercedes-Benz slipped barely on Wednesday morning after the carmaker withdrew its full-year outlook and introduced a drop in earnings.
The Stuttgart-based agency’s inventory had dropped greater than 1% by noon CEST as traders feared the fallout of commerce boundaries imposed by the US administration.
“The US tariff coverage, in addition to the countermeasures of different governments and the related modifications in tariff charges, are resulting in appreciable uncertainty for the world economic system,” Mercedes-Benz stated in a press launch.
The carmaker famous that it was nonetheless too early to evaluate the complete penalties of President Donald Trump’s commerce insurance policies, notably given the uncertainty round tariff measures.
Mercedes at the moment makes automobiles in quite a lot of totally different areas, with a heavy presence in Germany. The carmaker has a plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and it famous earlier this month that it might ramp up manufacturing within the US in response to tariffs.
Mercedes’ earnings earlier than curiosity and taxes dropped 41% year-on-year to €2.3 billion within the first quarter of 2025, the carmaker introduced on Wednesday.
Internet revenue plummeted 43% to €1.7bn, whereas income fell 7% to €33.2bn.
In Mercedes’ automobile division, the adjusted working margin fell 1.7 factors to 7.3%.
Trump’s concession to carmakers
The carmarker’s tariff warnings come after the US administration provided a ray of hope to the auto trade on Tuesday.
President Trump signed an govt order to reimburse some levies on auto components despatched to the US.
On prime of this, companies that pay duties on automobiles and components won’t should pay the extra tariffs that Trump has imposed on metal, aluminium and items from Canada and Mexico.
Tariffs of 25% on international automobiles despatched to the US got here into impact earlier this month, whereas duties on international auto components are set to kick in on Saturday.
Different carmakers sounding the alarm over tariffs embrace Stellantis, Volvo, and Normal Motors, who’ve all withdrawn forecasts in response to Trump’s commerce battle.
Volkswagen on Wednesday reported a 37% year-on-year drop in first-quarter revenue, which got here to €2.9bn. VW maintained its full-year outlook.