Despite the worldwide chip shortage, Mercedes-Benz made more sales and profits last year by focusing more on more expensive models. Operating profit more than doubled.
Due to the chip shortage, Mercedes opted for that strategy whereby not only larger cars, but also cars with more luxurious equipment were given priority in production. The adjusted strategy increased the average price for each Mercedes sold by more than a quarter. The profit margin on the luxury cars and vans of the German company was 12.7 percent. A year earlier, it was 6.9 percent. All this led to a turnover of €168 billion and an operating profit of €19.2 billion. In 2020, the profit of the company, which until the beginning of this year was called Daimler, still amounted to €8.6 billion.
The name change from Daimler to Mercedes-Benz was part of an adjustment in which Daimler previously set up the truck and bus branch on its own two feet and brought it to the stock exchange. This step resulted in a one-off additional revenue of €9.2 billion for the new Mercedes-Benz. This is not included in the operating profit, but it is included in the net profit, which amounted to €23.4 billion. This made it six times as high as a year earlier.
For this year, Mercedes-Benz is counting on a slightly higher turnover than last year. At the same time, the company believes that delivery problems for chips, among other things, will continue.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl