Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday that it was able to offset the effects of high inflation and saw a modest increase in operating earnings in the first three months of the year.
According to the German car company, operational profit increased to 5.5 billion euros ($6 billion) in the first quarter of 2023 from 5.2 billion euros in the same time of the previous year.
According to Mercedes’ finance head Harald Wilhelm, increased prices for the group’s automobiles were able to “overcompensate for the negative effects from higher material costs” despite skyrocketing inflation.
According to the statement from Mercedes, the improvement was “mainly” due to the company’s vans sector doing well.
According to the firm, Mercedes also had “solid growth rates” in the sales of both its high-margin top-end car lineup and electrified vehicles.
In the first quarter, sales of battery-powered cars “almost doubled” to 51,600 units, accounting for 10% of the group’s total sales, Mercedes said in a statement earlier this month.
The United States, where the government has undertaken a campaign to get people to purchase more battery-powered automobiles, had a gain of 327 percent in the sales of electric vehicles, which contributed to the good performance.
In contrast, Mercedes’ top-end car sales increased by 18% year over year in the first quarter, with 91,800 units shipped.
The increased performance coincides with a temporary easing of the supply chain problems that have plagued the car sector.
On April 28, Mercedes-Benz will release its complete first-quarter financial figures.
