German Truckmakers See 2024 Sales Decline Amid Weak Demand
(Reuters) -German truckmakers Daimler Truck and Traton reported on Tuesday declining 2024 sales mainly due to tepid demand in Europe, in particular in their home country Germany.
The world's biggest truckmaker, Daimler Truck, reported a 12% annual sales drop to 460,409 units sold, also weighed down by a sharp decline in sales in Asia, which was in line with the company's reduced guidance.
Volkswagen's Traton recorded a smaller annual decline of 1% to 334,200 trucks, due to lower sales at its main German truck and bus brand MAN, and delays caused by tighter regulatory requirements for vehicle software systems in Europe.
Shares in Daimler Truck and Traton were up 1.7% and 3.2%, respectively, by 1030 GMT as the declining sales were in line with expectations.
One bright spot for Daimler Truck was sales growth of 17% in battery electric (BEV) sales, to 4,035 BEV trucks sold in 2024, but still less than 1% of the total sales.
For Traton, annual BEV sales declined by 18% to 1,740 units.
Last year, Daimler Truck cut its annual outlook and said it would reduce hours for some employees in Germany as a result of weak demand in Europe and Asia.
Traton flagged lower quarterly margins in its key units Scania and MAN at a fourth-quarter pre-close call due to prolonged weakness in the European market.
Both companies will release the full annual financial reports in mid-March.
(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach, writing by Andrey Sychev, editing by Friederike Heine and Louise Heavens)
