Mercedes-Benz reported on Wednesday that global car deliveries fell 8% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, with a deepening slump in China responsible for much of the decline.
Across the quarter, the automaker handed over 417,800 vehicles to customers
Chinese deliveries were down 30% from a year ago, a decline the automaker attributed to what it called “an intensifying competitive environment and the timing of the company’s current product ramp-ups.” Mercedes-Benz stock fell as much as 3.7% in Frankfurt trading. Results outside China were considerably stronger. North America sales rose 13%, while European deliveries grew 4%.
Fully electric models — counting both cars and vans — accounted for 63,000 deliveries, a 50% jump from the prior-year period, buoyed in part by European appetite for those vehicles. The automaker’s highest-end lineup saw a 10% drop in deliveries, a result the company tied to scheduled transitions between model generations and when particular vehicles became available. Deliveries of the G-Class gained 3%.