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Daimler and Volkswagen profits hit by sales falls | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Daimler and Volkswagen have posted falls in first-quarter profits, hit by a continuing slump European car sales. | |
Daimler warned that profits this year will be lower than last year's, after a 60% fall in earnings to 564m euros ($733m; £480m) for the three months. | |
Meanwhile, Volkswagen saw profits fall 38% to 1.95bn euros in the January-March period. | |
Sales in Europe for all carmakers fell 9.8% in March, the 18th drop in a row, with little signs of a turnaround. | |
Daimler's revenue fell 3% to 26.1bn euros ($34bn, £22bn), with chief executive Dieter Zetsche saying that "many markets developed worse than expected". | |
Daimler said that it expected 2013 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from continued operations to be below last year's 8.125bn euros, a level it had previously aimed to reach again this year. | Daimler said that it expected 2013 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from continued operations to be below last year's 8.125bn euros, a level it had previously aimed to reach again this year. |
Daimler aims for its Mercedes brand to overtake BMW and VW's Audi as the world's biggest selling luxury carmaker by 2020. | Daimler aims for its Mercedes brand to overtake BMW and VW's Audi as the world's biggest selling luxury carmaker by 2020. |
But its sales continued to lag its two rivals in China, a market seen as key if Daimler is to achieve its growth ambitions. | But its sales continued to lag its two rivals in China, a market seen as key if Daimler is to achieve its growth ambitions. |
VW-subsidiary Audi's sales in China rose 30% last year to 405,838 cars, while BMW's surged 40% to 326,444. Daimler's sales rose just 4% to 206,150 cars. | |
Stuttgart-based Daimler said on Wednesday that it expected the US and Chinese markets to grow but warned that European car sales would fall further this year. | Stuttgart-based Daimler said on Wednesday that it expected the US and Chinese markets to grow but warned that European car sales would fall further this year. |
The company said "the German market cannot detach itself from this development and is expected to fall significantly short of the previous year's level". | |
Daimler also said the market for trucks would fall 5% due to the slow economy. | Daimler also said the market for trucks would fall 5% due to the slow economy. |
Volkswagen faired better in the first three months of 2013, but warned of the "negative effects" of the slowdown in European markets. | |
The company said that it was bracing itself for "increasingly stiff competition in a challenging market environment". | |
"We're not completely immune to the intense competition and the impact this has on business," it said. | |
Revenue was down 1.6% to 46.57bn euros, from 47.33bn euros. |
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