Mercedes-Benz vehicles are more profitable than ever despite the chip crisis caused by a global shortage of cars, boosting the selling prices of models such as the S-Class flagship, according to Reuters.
The auto industry exceeded its profit target last year and sales performance in the last quarter was the highest ever recorded, a company spokesman said on Friday.
The global shortage of high-tech components has burdened the industry, causing production cuts and delays. The Volkswagen Group announced on Friday that global deliveries fell by 15% in January and Volvo Car AB said supply chain pressures would continue to disrupt deliveries this year.
However, Mercedes-Benz – which lost the ‘crown’ of luxury car sales to rival BMW AG for the first time since 2015 – said reduced sales volumes were offset by higher prices last year as the company benefited from the lack of ready-made vehicles and a strategy that directed the now rare semiconductors to higher value models.
The lack of chips has led to dramatic price reversals, with some used models costing significantly more than ordering new ones, with the latter being subject to long delays. Used versions of the iconic Mercedes G-Wagon sell for about a third more than newer ones in the US, according to market research firm iSeeCars.
The management of Mercedes-Benz is intensifying its efforts to turn one of the most historic names in the automotive industry into a purely electric ‘rival’ of the market leader Tesla. The company aims to have battery-powered models in all its categories this year, which will be a milestone in its ambitious plan to sell only electric cars by 2030.
The company announced that sales revenues in the automotive and truck sectors reached 12.7%, exceeding forecasts for a result of 10% to 12%. Strong pricing of new and used vehicles helped achieve the result, the company said.
Profits before interest and taxes of the department amounted to about 14 billion euros for the whole year. The stock gained up to 3.4% from the news.
Source: Capital
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