FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz pledged on Tuesday not to enter into a price war, saying it wanted to defend the high prices of its vehicles, despite a first quarter penalized by changes in prices. models and supply chain bottlenecks.
The group’s operating profit in the first quarter fell 29.8% to 3.86 billion euros, while LSEG analysts had expected an average of 3.87 billion euros.
In the automotive division, the operating margin fell to 9.6% from 14.9% a year earlier while car sales fell by 8%.
“The first quarter sales level is considered a trough, and second quarter volumes are expected to be better,” Mercedez-Benz said.
Chief financial officer Harald Wilhelm said the group remains “vigilant about the global macroeconomic and geopolitical outlook”, confirming the group’s outlook for 2024.
The manufacturer expects stable turnover and slightly lower operating income in 2024 than last year.
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Dimitri Rhodes, editing by Blandine Hénault)
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