Major German carmakers report profit decline in Q1 2025

Major German car makers have reported net profit declines in the first quarter of 2025 as they face increasing operation challenges amid U.S. tariff-created uncertainties.

​Volkswagen Group said its sales revenue in the first three months of 2025 grew by nearly three percent year on year, but the earnings after tax slumped about 41 percent from the previous year.

Challenges such as uncertainties in the global economy, increasing trade restrictions, and commodity volatility are placing pressure on the company's profitability, Volkswagen Group said in its financial results released on Wednesday.

Mercedes-Benz Group also reported a net profit reduction in the first quarter of 2025.

In its financial report released on Wednesday, the company said its first-quarter revenue amounted to 33.2 billion euros, down seven percent year on year, and its net profit stood at 1.73 billion euros, marking a 43-percent decline compared to the previous year.

Mercedes-Benz Group said that the U.S. tariff policy causes considerable uncertainty for the world economy, dims global growth prospects, and leads to weak consumer sentiment.

If the currently-announced U.S. tariffs are implemented and remain in place until the end of the year, they will have a negative impact on its business, Mercedes-Benz Group said.

On the same day, the German Association of the Automotive Industry called on the United States to roll back additional tariffs on automobiles and auto parts for vehicles and to resolve trade disputes through dialogue to create a sustainable environment for long-term development.

Major German carmakers report profit decline in Q1 2025

Major German carmakers report profit decline in Q1 2025

Major German carmakers report profit decline in Q1 2025

Major German carmakers report profit decline in Q1 2025

China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index made modest gains in the past week thanks to the huge electrification campaign that reduces the country's exposure to the volatile oil price as the continuing conflict in the Middle East enters the second week, said an analyst on Friday.

Chinese stocks closed lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.81 percent to 4,095.45 points.

Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network, said the CSI 300 Index made modest gains despite a rough week for both Chinese and global stock markets.

"The conflict in the Middle East really shows no sign of winding down and it has been as you said another rough week for the global markets. Today the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.8 percent, and ended lower for the week as well, but the blue-chip CSI 300 Index actually managed to make some modest gains this week. And that fits what we've been hearing from analysts and investment banks, including Morgan Stanley and UBS. They've said that China's got less oil exposure than other economies. This is partly because of the huge electrification campaign which has been happening in China from family cars to road haulage, and also just the total energy mix here. But we know that oil isn't the only thing that's not getting out of the Middle East at the moment. Fertilizer has emerged as another big disruption point and we have seen in the last 48 hours China already begin early releases of fertilizer reserves ahead of the spring planting season. With all that in the mix we have seen the likes of Morgan Stanley and UBS touting A-shares as a diversification option and a resilient market in this risk-off investment environment," said Pope.

"Sector-wise today we saw some consumer stocks rising -- led by liquor makers, in particular, Kweichow Moutai. There were also some limited gains for Chinese real estate and financial firms. But with the oil price still extremely volatile, Chinese resources and energy shares pulled back today to become the two worst-performing sectors," said Pope.

Chinese blue-chip stocks make gains amid a rough week for global markets: analyst