German legacy automaker Mercedes-Benz reported strong Q2 2023 results last week. Its Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) grew 8% to €5.0 billion, while its revenue increased 5% to €38.2 billion from April to June 2023.
Despite the expensiveness of the brand’s luxury vehicle models, it claims its enormous North American operation maintains strong demand owing to its new offerings.
“Just in the first half-year, we had the launch of the fifth electric vehicle — the EQE SUV, a US-made electric vehicle with great success in the market — we launched our GLC, the medium-sized SUV; so we have pretty fresh and new models in the market, which attract customers and keep the demand high.”
Mercedes-Benz North America president and CEO Dimitris Psillakis (via Yahoo Finance)
Mercedes-Benz North America’s revenue surged 10.8% in Q2 2023
Mercedes-Benz firmly believes that its strategy of launching new models primarily gains customer attention, increasing the demand for its vehicles.
In fact, its North American business reported a revenue growth of 10.8% in the second quarter of the year. This market is highly significant for the company, given that 30% of its sales came from the region.
In effect, its Q2 2023 results ultimately raised the company’s full-year industrial free-cash flow and EBIT guidance.
Apart from expanding its top-end vehicle portfolio, the German automaker has also been actively working on advancings its EV lineup – EQS.
CEO Dimitris Psillakis asserted that the launch of the EQE SUV enables the automaker to complete its EV SUV lineup in the US market. It includes the base model EQB through the high-end EQS SUV model. The company further aims to launch the all-new “ultra-luxury” EQS Maybach in Q4 2023.
“We plan to grow fast on zero-emissions vehicles — it’s an aggressive plan at the moment,” Psillakis said, adding that Mercedes is “more or less doubling the market on EVs … with 14% share of electric vehicles in our product portfolio, which is pretty impressive for the US market.”
Mercedes-Benz North America president and CEO Dimitris Psillakis (via Yahoo Finance)
Mercedes EV charging strategy
The lack of sufficient and reliable public charging infrastructures remains the top barrier to the wide EV uptake. That considered, Mercedes aims to address this issue by employing a “multiprong” strategy.
It involves the expansion of its proprietary charging network in North America. It has also announced plans to partner with Tesla to access its enormous Superchaging charging network by equipping its next-gen EVs with NACS plug.
It also joined six other major automakers in forming a new joint venture to develop a new charging network, with intentions to rival Tesla’s Superchargers.
“I think our effort is to offer to our customers the maximum convenience in charging, so our vehicles will be capable of charging in all available high- or superchargers in the US,” he said. “That would give convenience, that would take away the fear of, ‘Where can I charge my electric vehicle?’ That’s about our strategy.”
Mercedes-Benz North America president and CEO Dimitris Psillakis (via Yahoo Finance)
See Also:
- Mercedes Benz will use Sila’s battery tech for its electric G-Class model
- Mercedes Benz opens sales for Drive Pilot in Germany
- Mercedes-Benz becomes the first German automaker to adopt Tesla’s NACS
- Mercedes-Benz bests Tesla for California’s approval of self-driving tech
- Mercedes-Benz: EVs are “technically superior” to e-fuel combustion cars
Mercedes-Benz’s electrification initiatives are indeed remarkable. That said, it is unsurprising that the German automaker retains its profitability in its EV business, despite the intensifying competition in the industry. It would be interesting to see how the brand would fare in the EV and charging industries in the coming quarters.
