The chief executive of Mercedes-Benz has said he does not expect any more concessions on car tariffs from Donald Trump’s administration, after the trade war halved its second-quarter profits.
The Stuttgart-based company on Wednesday said it was expecting “significantly lower” full-year vehicle sales and weaker profits on the back of tariffs on cars exported from the EU to the US, and sluggish Chinese demand.
Carmakers have been reeling from Trump’s trade policies, with EU vehicle exports to the US subject to additional 25 per cent tariffs, before the EU-US trade deal agreed on Sunday. Following the deal, that tariff rate is expected to fall from 27.5 per cent, which includes an existing 2.5 per cent tariff, to 15 per cent.