Kallenius.
BERLIN: The head of German carmaker Mercedes-Benz has highlighted the challenges facing the company in an interview with the business newspaper Handelsblatt.German automakers have recently seen significant profit declines, with Mercedes-Benz reporting a consolidated net profit of around €2.7 billion (RM13.12bil) for the first half of the year, marking a drop of 55.8% compared to the same period last year.
"The environment in which we operate is extremely complex at the moment," chief executive Ola Kallenius told the newspaper in the interview published on Monday.
"Car manufacturing is a tough business, now more than ever."
Kallenius sees three main reasons for this, with US tariffs top of the list.
He said that if the US decides to redefine a global trade order that has been in place for decades, this will inevitably have an impact on business.
Under President Donald Trump, the US has raised tariffs on imports from the EU, including cars.
Second, Kallenius described the intense "Darwinian" competition in China, where over 100 car manufacturers vie for market share.
"Consumer sentiment in the high-end segments important to us has been very subdued for several years, to put it mildly," he noted.
Third, the shift to electric mobility is taking longer than anticipated.
"That is why we are investing in multiple drive technologies in parallel for an extended period," Kallenius explained.
