Last Update: April 21, 2023, 04:33 AM IST
Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
The German auto group said it posted an operating profit of 5.5 billion euros ($6 billion) in the first quarter of 2023.
Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday its operating profit rose slightly in the first three months of the year, as it was able to offset the impact of higher inflation.
The German auto group said it reported an operating profit of 5.5 billion euros ($6 billion) in the first quarter of 2023, up from 5.2 billion in the same period last year.
Harald Wilhelm, Mercedes’ finance chief, said in a statement the higher price tags for the group’s vehicles were able to “more than compensate for the negative effects from higher material costs”.
The improvement came “mainly” from the strong performance of the automaker’s van division, Mercedes said in the statement.
The group said Mercedes saw “solid growth rates” in sales of both electric vehicles and its high-margin top-end vehicle range.
Mercedes said in a statement earlier this month that sales of battery-powered vehicles “almost doubled” in the first quarter to 51,600 units, accounting for 10 percent of the group’s total sales.
The strong performance was driven by a 327 percent increase in electric vehicle sales in the United States, where the government has pushed consumers to buy more battery-powered cars.
Meanwhile, sales of Mercedes’ top-end vehicles rose 18 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter, with 91,800 units delivered.
The improved performance comes in the form of supply chain issues that have left the auto industry somewhat stymied.
Mercedes-Benz full first quarter results will be published on April 28.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
