The 2021 of Daimler, the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz, continues at full speed, in spite of the semiconductor crisis which for months has forced production in fits and starts on many manufacturers. The margins of the Stuttgart giant reached double digits for the third consecutive quarter at 12.8% thanks to the increase in sales (521 thousand Mercedes sold, + 27% on 2020) especially of vehicles that guarantee higher profits and which are precisely those that dominate the sales mix. The company’s cash increased to € 20.9 billion at the end of the quarter, from the € 20.1 billion it started with. For the second quarter, Daimler’s net profit was 3.7 billion euros, compared to a loss of 1.9 billion euros in the April-June 2020 period, when the company had to close its plants for the first wave of the pandemic. Revenues increased by 44% to 43.5 billion euros. Over 5 billion Ebit. The stock has gained 20% since the beginning of the year.
CEO Ola Källenius from Sweden said the company will use its financial resources to invest in electric car technology and the development of a more software-focused company, a trend that is now taking hold on a global scale, given the objective of the autonomous driving that many houses have given themselves for the end of the decade and the growing offer of services on demand e pay per use.
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“We are implementing our strategy at full speed,” said Källenius, but admitting that vehicle production is still hampered by the chip shortage that has hit the automotive industry around the world in recent months. The company said the shortage will continue to impact business in the second half of the year, although forecasts point to a wake in 2022.
Meanwhile, Daimler is introducing new electric vehicles and has said it aims to have a range carbon neutral by 2039 even if it has not specified a date that puts an end to internal combustion engines, thanks to which houses can sell the cars that allow them to invest in electricity.
Just tomorrow the German company will officially illustrate its electrification strategy at an event. The European Commission has called for a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions from cars by 2035, which means the de facto end of petrol and diesel engines in Europe.