Mercedes-Benz says it has been able to buck most of the industry-wide carnage for the first quarter of 2022, reporting strong financial results even with a 10 per cent drop in deliveries.
All up, Mercedes-Benz Cars delivered 487,008 vehicles, which was 10 per cent less than the 538,869 units it delivered in Q1, 2021. In spite of the drop, though, Mercedes grew its revenue by 8 per cent to 2.5 billion euros.
Mercedes says that doubling-down on high-end cars and vans helped the company to achieve a 16.4 per cent return on sales for its car division, while Mercedes-Benz Vans reported 12.6 per cent return on sales.
The company says Covid-19 lockdowns, semiconductor shortages and economic uncertainty from the Ukrainian were all to blame for the drop in deliveries, but managed to still report an 8 per cent increase in revenue.
This growth in revenue was driven largely by sales of high-end flagship models, including the Mercedes-Maybach and AMG divisions, with the G-Class, S-Class, GLS and EQS accounting for around 16 per cent of overall sales volume.
Mercedes’s electric vehicle division also reported strong increases of 19 per cent, amounting to 74,000 vehicles delivered in Q1, 2022.
The company says it expects supply constraints to continue for the remainder of 2022, meaning it will continue its reliance on premium model deliveries to keep its balance sheet in check. Harald Wilhelm, CFO at Mercedes-Benz, said:
“In this challenging environment, resilience and pricing power are crucial. Our sharpened focus on desirable top-end and electric vehicles, combined with ongoing cost discipline allowed us to deliver strong earnings despite numerous headwinds. On this foundation, we continue to transform our business by growing the luxury business, scaling up production of electric vehicles and accelerating software development.”
In Australia, Mercedes-Benz sold 5958 vehicles during the first three months of this year, according to VFACTS. That’s down 26.8 per cent on the same period last year. Its most popular model was the GLC SUV, reporting 1012 units, followed by the GLA with 714 units.
