Mercedes Benz reports Q2 profit boost but flags China woes for car sales

Berlin: ​German premium carmaker Mercedes-Benz reported a ​22% rise in second-quarter operating profit but flagged weakness in its core cars business on Tuesday, ‌now ⁠forecasting a ⁠drop in overall sales due to problems ​in China.

Group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came ​in at €1.5 billion ($1.71 billion), slightly below an average analyst estimate of €1.6 billion, ​according to a poll ⁠conducted by Visible ‌Alpha.

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Mercedes now expects both ​sales ​of cars and group revenue ⁠to come in slightly below the prior-year ​level in 2026, having previous forecast ​a stagnation.

The group result in the April-to-June period was supported by strong earnings at Mercedes' financial services and vans units. It also benefited from ‌a €131 million gain linked to the planned sale of its ​leasing subsidiary ​Athlon.

"Despite a ⁠demanding market environment, we remained on track in the second quarter while continuing to ​advance our product launch programme," CEO Ola Kaellenius said, vowing further cost-cutting measures in the second half of the year.

($1 = 0.8795 euros)

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