另外，保时捷正在加强在中国的研发能力，并降低车型售价以促进销售，但销量提升效果有限，前三季度营收同比下滑5.2%，运营利润同比下滑27%。Global demand for electric vehicles has slowed down, putting pressure on European car manufacturers. Porsche reduced prices for promotion, but the effect was limited, with operating profit in the first nine months decreasing by 27% year-on-year. In order to attract customers and support dealers, Mercedes-Benz had to increase discounts, sacrificing profits to deal with market pressure. Coupled with declining sales, this led to the company's profit being halved in the third quarter. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz has already lowered its annual profit margin expectation twice in the past three months.
Due to significant profit and revenue decline, Mercedes-Benz has to try every means to cut expenses.
On Friday, October 25th, Eastern Time, the German carmaker Mercedes-Benz stated that the company is now trying to save costs by all means because third-quarter profits halved, especially with significant declines in auto sales in China and Europe.
Additionally, Porsche is enhancing its R&D capabilities in China and lowering vehicle prices to boost sales. However, the effect on sales volume improvement is limited, with a 5.2% YoY decline in revenue and a 27% YoY decline in operating profit for the first three quarters.
Affected by this news, Mercedes-Benz's US stock price once dropped by over 1.3%, while European stocks fell by nearly 3.9% intraday. Porsche's ADR also saw a nearly 0.7% intraday drop.
Mercedes-Benz's Q3 profit margin dropped from 12.4% to 4.7%.
The latest quarterly report shows that Mercedes-Benz's automotive division saw a significant drop in Q3 profit margin from 12.4% in the same period last year to 4.7%. The company's net income was 1.7 billion euros, far lower than the 3.7 billion euros in the same period last year. Total revenue also fell by 6.7% YoY to 34.5 billion euros. Looking at specific markets, sales in China dropped by 17%, while the German market declined by 25%. The Chinese market is crucial for Mercedes-Benz; last year, approximately one-third of its total sales came from the Chinese market.
It is worth noting that not only has Mercedes-Benz lowered its annual profit margin expectations twice in the last three months, but other European car manufacturers are also facing similar challenges. Earlier this week, Volvo and Volkswagen also successively lowered their annual performance expectations. Among European car manufacturers, only Renault is still maintaining its unchanged annual financial goals.
Mercedes-Benz reported that one of the reasons for the decline in profit is the global slowdown in electric vehicle demand. In order to attract consumers and support its dealers in China, Mercedes-Benz has had to offer discounts to consumers, thus squeezing profit margins.
European car manufacturers have already invested heavily in electric vehicle production to comply with the EU's policy to ban new fossil fuel cars by 2035. However, they are now facing numerous issues such as declining electric vehicle demand. Germany and other European countries have reduced incentives for purchasing electric cars, and the insufficient development of charging infrastructure has led to a decrease in consumer interest in electric cars.
Mercedes-Benz's Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm pointed out that in Europe, the demand for pure electric vehicles is far below industry expectations. Sales of pure electric vehicles in the most recent quarter decreased by 31% year-on-year, while sales of plug-in hybrid vehicles increased by 10%.
Wilhelm stated to investors on Friday that the company is taking various measures to improve performance and preparing for a market that may not improve in the short term. He emphasized: "Given the increasingly challenging market environment, we will focus on costs and reassess and adjust every detail and aspect."
Although the performance this quarter was disappointing, RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan pointed out that Mercedes-Benz's free cash flow is higher than expected, which is good news because it supports the shareholder dividends and capital return plans for 2025. Wilhelm also revealed that the company plans to further repurchase stocks next year to enhance shareholder returns.
Porsche's operating profit declined by 27% year-on-year from January to September.
On Friday evening Beijing time, Porsche released its financial report, showing that the company's revenue in the first three quarters decreased by 5.2% to 28.56 billion euros. Operating profit for the first three quarters fell by 27% to 4.04 billion euros. Net cash flow for autos in the first three quarters dropped by 63% to 1.24 billion euros. The sales operating margin for the first three quarters was 14.1%, lower than the 18.3% in the same period last year.
In terms of performance guidance, Porsche maintains its full-year revenue expectations unchanged at 39 billion-40 billion euros, while analysts expect 39.13 billion euros. Maintaining the full-year operating margin expectation at 14%-15% unchanged, with analysts expecting 14.6%.
Porsche is expanding its research and development team in China, especially strengthening the research departments for smart cockpits and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Porsche stated that this team will be responsible for adapting intelligent applications to the Chinese market. Porsche's China R&D team was established in 2022, initially small in scale, but this is the team's second large-scale recruitment since its establishment.
Furthermore, the price of Porsche's Macan model in China has dropped to below 0.4 million yuan. For example, the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the 2024 Macan 2.0T is 0.578 million, with a Shenzhen dealer offering a bare car quote of as low as 0.358 million yuan, equivalent to a 40% discount. In addition, models like Taycan and Panamera are also undergoing major promotions. However, despite the continuous price cuts, Porsche's sales have not picked up.
