Profitability – measured by the EBIT margin, which relates the operating result to sales – increased slightly from 7.2 to 8.6 percent. The most profitable is the German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz with a margin of 13 percent. Followed by Toyota with 12.6 percent and BMW (11.3 percent). Volkswagen ended up at the bottom with 6.2 percent.
Nevertheless, things are no longer going well for the global auto industry, said auto expert and head of the Western Europe mobility division at EY, Constantin Gall: “The coming year will be significantly more challenging.” Demand for new cars is weakening, the ramp-up of electromobility is stalling, and price pressure is increasing. Problems with the introduction of new models put a strain on profitability because there was a lack of sales and development costs were higher than planned.