Hope bearer: Mercedes-Benz Cla-Prototype (Photo: Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
Stuttgart-Most recently there was a lot of bad news for the car manufacturer with the star-and now also that: Toyota has overhauled Mercedes-Benz as the most valuable car brand, so one Brand Finance ranking. On Thursday the DAX group lays Numbers for the 4th quarter and the year 2024 before.
The Mercedes share course knew one direction in 2024: downwards. From over 76 euros in spring it went down to a good 51 euros. In the new year, the turn, parallel to the upper in the Dax, the paper increased by around 15 percent and today noted at 61.73 euros (11 a.m. CET).
Board suggests dividend – a strong drop in profits in the 3rd quarter
The shareholders are eagerly awaiting the dividend proposal that the board On February 20, parallel to the annual balance sheet wants to publish. The last 4 years the distributions rose annually. Is the damper in the crisis now? Count after 5.30 euros 2024 Analysts according to finanzen.net now with 4.36 euros.
Mercedes shocked the markets in autumn with a sobering Result in the 3rd quarter: Sales decline in the annual comparison by 7 percent, drop in profits by violent 54 percent. The return on sales in the important car division fell from 12.4 percent to 4.7 percent.
Chinese prefer BYD and Co. – drop in sales in 2024
China is the number 1 problem zone, especially the sales of luxury cars in the Middle Kingdom is in a structural deep. The car manufacturer sold 12 percent less in the 3rd quarter. Especially in the electric car area, the Chinese are increasingly relying on their local brands such as BYD or NIO.
The crisis is reflected In paragraph 2024 Against: 2,389,000 million cars and vans mean 4 percent less than in the previous year, including a minus of 3 percent in cars and a whopping 23 percent slump in pure e-cars. The sales of luxury cars fell by 14 percent, and the Chinese business by 7 percent.
Quality problems in the USA-CLA offensive in 2025
Little reason to joy also provide one Current quality statistics from the USA. For example, market researchers from JD Power have recently asked US customers about the reliability of their vehicles. Mercedes-Benz only took 24th place out of 31 in the brand ranking, while BMW made it to 8th place.
CEO Ola Källenius emphasizes the positive And refers to strengthened car sales in the 4th quarter in the top-end divisions and core. In 2024, Mercedes-Benz demonstrated the radiance of the brand and the wide range of products. In 2025 they wanted to attack with the new CLA.
Källenius: failed luxury strategy – savings package with job cuts
Källenius could use a success of the compact class CLA, because his strategy to achieve high margins in the luxury segment see critics as failed. Straight The top electrical models Like EQS and EQE, regardless of the China, do not really arrive.
In addition, a Another savings program Bring the company back on track. Management wants to save 5 billion euros by 2027 under the keyword “Next Level Performance”. 10 percent of the jobs are available, the works council announces protests.
Forecasts for sales and profit
The forecasts per share in the 4th quarter of 2024 better estimate the result than in the previous quarter: the estimate of 5 analysts is around 2.48 euros according to finanzen.net. In the 3rd quarter of 2024, the result was around 1.81 euros per share, in the previous year it was around 2.99 euros.
An increase is also expected when it comes to sales. At around 38.12 billion euros, the estimate for the 4th quarter is on average, compared to around 34.53 billion euros in the 3rd quarter. In the previous year, however, sales were around 40.26 billion euros. The financial year ends on December 31.
Disclaimer:
All information without guarantee for completeness, correctness and topicality. The text does not represent a trade recommendation or investment advice.