Mercedes 2025 earnings more than halve in year rocked by tariffs, China woes

STUTTGART: Mercedes-Benz reported a sharper-than-expected 57% drop in 2025 operating profit on Thursday, underscoring a difficult year as it battles stiff competition in China, costly tariffs and negative currency effects.

The premium carmaker’s group earnings before interest and taxes came in at 5.8 billion euros ($6.9 billion) in 2025, below the 6.6 billion euros forecast by analysts in a Visible Alpha poll and down from 13.6 billion euros a year earlier.

The company generated revenue of 132.2 billion euros, down 9% year on year and slightly below the forecast 134 billion euros.

“Amid a dynamic market environment, our financial results remained within our guidance, thanks to our sharp focus on efficiency, speed, and flexibility,” CEO Ola Kaellenius said.

Mercedes reported a full-year adjusted return on sales of 5% at its core passenger cars business, within its targeted range of 4% to 6%.

The company had initially estimated a 2025 profit margin in the range of 6% to 8% but pulled that guidance in April while it calculated the impact of tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump.

In the medium term, it now hopes to boost that margin to 8%-10% through a raft of product launches and “relentless cost discipline”, a statement said.