Despite registering more unit sales in the second quarter of 2016 than last year, Mercedes’ overall profits went down due to them having to refresh their lineup and call back a great number of cars fitted with faulty Takata airbags.
According to Autonews, the profit margin at Mercedes (including the Smart brand) dropped to 6.4 percent in Q2 of 2016, compared to 10.5 percent last year, as they also registered a lower ‘return on sales’ percentage (by 0.6).
“It’s good to see the adjusted return on sales in the cars division back in the double digits with the E class launching,” said German analyst Sascha Gommel. “It’s a strong result across the board.”
Despite those setbacks, Mercedes is expecting further growth in the second half of the year as customers adjust to purchasing not just the new GLC, but also the new version of the E-Class sedan, both of which are more profitable than the smaller models.
Mercedes is still hoping that its mostly rejuvenated lineup will lead to them bumping BMW out of the way in their bid to reclaim the title of world’s biggest premium car manufacturer by the end of the year.
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