Germany's Daimler Truck feels the pinch in US with sharp sales drop
10.04.2026, DPA
A weak US market and declining bus sales have led to a further drop in Daimler Truck's sales in the first quarter, resulting in a 9% decline compared with the same period last year, the company reported on Friday.
The German commercial vehicle manufacturer said it sold 68,849 trucks and buses worldwide between January and March.
The US subsidiary recorded the sharpest fall. Sales dropped 25% to 29,432 vehicles in the first quarter.
Daimler Truck said the market is weakening as freight companies hold back on new orders. It cited uncertainty linked in part to US tariffs, which make future freight volumes harder to forecast.
By contrast, sales of Mercedes-Benz Trucks rose 13% to 34,486 vehicles. The company did not provide an explanation for the increase.
Bus sales fell by 20% to 4,972 vehicles between January and March. Daimler Truck did not comment on the reasons for the decline.
The company plans to provide more detailed financial and operational figures when it publishes its quarterly results on May 6.
Profit under pressure
Daimler Truck has been facing weaker performance overall. Full-year profit fell 34% to €2 billion ($2.3 billion) in 2025, hit by weak demand in North America and tariff-related uncertainty.
Revenue declined 9% to around €49.5 billion, while sales fell 8% to 422,510 vehicles.
To improve competitiveness, the company launched a cost-cutting programme called "Cost Down Europe" last year.
It aims to reduce costs in Europe by more than €1 billion by 2030 and includes plans to cut around 5,000 jobs in Germany, with the Mercedes-Benz brand most affected.
Additional savings measures are also planned in North America.
Porsche sales drop 15% on weak China demand, US policy changes
10.04.2026, DPA
German sports carmaker Porsche reported on Friday a drop in sales in the first quarter of 2026, citing continued weak demand in China and North America.
The Volkswagen subsidiary sold 60,991 vehicles worldwide between January and March, the Stuttgart-based company said in a statement. That was 15% fewer than in the same period last year.
Porsche attributed the decline partly to the phase-out of the combustion-engine versions of the Cayman and Boxster, as well as the removal of tax incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles in the United States.
Chief sales officer Matthias Becker said first-quarter sales were "overall in line with expectations."
"In the coming months, our focus will be on the market launch of the all-electric Cayenne, which will be delivered to its first customers from summer onwards," Becker said.
Sharpest decline in China
Demand in China remained particularly weak. Wealthy consumers are spending less amid the country's ongoing property crisis, and Porsche has been cautious about offering discounts. Sales in China fell 21% to 7,519 vehicles.
In the key North American market, Porsche sold 18,344 vehicles between January and March, 11% fewer than a year earlier.
The company also reported declines in most other regions. Only in its home market of Germany did sales rise, increasing 4% to 7,778 vehicles.
In the rest of Europe, sales dropped 18% to 14,710 vehicles.
Among Porsche's model lines, the Cayenne remained the best seller, but sales fell 4% to 19,183 vehicles. A fully electric version of the SUV is due to be introduced gradually from the summer.
Sales of the 911 model sports car rose 22% to 13,889 vehicles.
Macan SUV sales slump
Porsche sold 18,209 Macan SUVs in total, including 10,130 combustion-engine models.
The company said these will continue to be sold alongside the electric version in most markets outside the European Union until production ends this summer. The fully electric Macan accounted for 8,079 vehicles.
Overall, Macan sales fell 23% compared with the same quarter last year. Porsche cited slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles, the launch of the electric Macan in the same period last year, and the end of US tax incentives for electric and hybrid cars.
Porsche a burden for VW Group
For the Volkswagen Group, Porsche – once considered a major profit driver – has recently become more of a burden.
Net profit fell sharply last year, dropping 91.4% to €310 million (about $362.3 million). In 2024, profit had still been nearly €3.6 billion. Revenue declined by almost a tenth to around €36.3 billion.
A major factor was a strategic shift initiated by former Porsche chief executive Oliver Blume just over a year ago, after it became clear that the company's ambitious electric vehicle targets were unlikely to be met.
Blume, who has focused solely on leading Volkswagen since the start of this year, said at the time that the transition to electric mobility had progressed significantly more slowly in many markets than he and many experts expected just a few years ago.
In 2025, about 22% of Porsche vehicles sold worldwide were fully electric.
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