Automaker Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, saw profit slump in 2019 and turned in a loss for the fourth quarter.
The weaker results announced Tuesday underlined the pressures on the global auto industry from economic headwinds and the need to invest in electric cars to meet tougher European Union limits on greenhouse gases. The company also saw deductions to earnings from regulatory troubles regarding the emissions of its diesel cars.
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Automaker Daimler AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, saw profit slump in 2019 and turned in a loss for the fourth quarter.
CEO Ola Kallenius said “we cannot be satisfied” with the results but added that the company was on track to cut costs and improve its earnings performance.
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, talks about future innovation of the car maker at the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car announcement during the Daimler Keynote before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Daimler announces the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car at the Daimler Keynote along with a sneak peek of the new Avatar 2 movie, background image, before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, talks about future innovation of the car maker at the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car announcement during the Daimler Keynote before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Movie director James Cameron, second from right, who directed movies such as Avatar, talks about the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car at the Daimler Keynote as Cameron is joined on stage by Ola Kallenius, right, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, talks about the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car at the Daimler Keynote before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Net profit for the full year fell to 2.71 billion euros ($2.94 billion) from 7.58 billion euros. In the fourth quarter of the year the Stuttgart-based company lost 11 million euros, compared to a profit of 1.64 billion euros in the year-earlier quarter.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019 file photo the logo of Daimler is photographed on a car in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. The maker of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars says its earnings fell by about half last year. (AP PhotoMichael Probst, file)
CEO Ola Kallenius said “we cannot be satisfied” with the results but added that the company was on track to cut costs and improve its earnings performance.
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, talks about future innovation of the car maker at the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car announcement during the Daimler Keynote before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, talks about future innovation of the car maker at the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car announcement during the Daimler Keynote before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Daimler announces the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car at the Daimler Keynote along with a sneak peek of the new Avatar 2 movie, background image, before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, talks about future innovation of the car maker at the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car announcement during the Daimler Keynote before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Movie director James Cameron, second from right, who directed movies such as Avatar, talks about the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car at the Daimler Keynote as Cameron is joined on stage by Ola Kallenius, right, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, talks about the world premiere of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept car at the Daimler Keynote before the CES tech show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Las Vegas. (AP PhotoRoss D. Franklin)