The German premium manufacturer is getting stuck. The results for the third quarter of 2024 have just been released and they are alarming.
Sales of electric vehicles collapse by 31% compared to the same period in 2023. A situation which questions the brand’s massive electrification strategy.
Figures that make you dizzy
The observation is brutal: Mercedes only sold 42,544 electric cars between July and September 2024. A staggering drop of 19,077 units compared to the previous year.
This decline is not limited to the last quarter. Over the first nine months of 2024, the brand shows a 22.1% drop in its electric saleswith only 135,908 models sold.
The group’s overall turnover follows the same trend with a drop of 6.7%. Even more worrying, earnings per share collapsed by 47.5%. These catastrophic results come as Mercedes offers one of the most complete electric ranges on the premium market.
BMW widens the gap
The comparison with BMW is particularly painful. While Mercedes is struggling to sell its electric models, its Munich rival is showing growth of 19.1% in the same segment. BMW delivered 294,054 electric vehicles in the first nine months of 2024, more than double Mercedes’ sales.
Mercedes has however bet big on electric. The brand now offers a complete range with 8 100% electric models. But this product offensive clearly does not find its audience. Even sales of plug-in hybrids are down 14.7%.
Management tries to reassure
Harald WilhelmMercedes’ financial director, recognizes that the results do not match the group’s ambitions. To redress the situation, the company promises to intensify its efforts to reduce production costs. But management remains lucid: 2024 sales will be lower than those of 2023.
Mercedes points the finger at “difficult market environment” and one “fierce competition, especially in China”. The Chinese market, crucial for premium manufacturers, is proving particularly complicated with the rise of local brands offering innovative electric vehicles at competitive prices.
A necessary questioning
These results raise questions about the adequacy between Mercedes’ offering and the expectations of its traditional customers. The brand may have to review its electrification strategy or find new arguments to convince its customers to take the plunge towards electric.
- Mercedes electric car sales fall 31% in third quarter 2024
- BMW does twice as well with 294,054 electric vehicles sold over nine months
- Mercedes promises to reduce production costs, but already expects 2024 results lower than 2023
