DAI.F - Daimler AG
| Previous close | 44.58 |
| Open | 44.67 |
| Bid | 0.00 x 250000 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 250000 |
| Day's range | 43.80 - 44.67 |
| 52-week range | 40.35 - 59.90 |
| Volume | 17,005 |
| Avg. volume | 10,301 |
| Market cap | 46.774B |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 1.56 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 11.60 |
| EPS (TTM) | 3.78 |
| Earnings date | N/A |
| Forward dividend & yield | 3.25 (7.29%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 23 May 2019 |
| 1y target est | N/A |
BloombergDaimler CEO Says Auto Industry Is in Transformation
Jan.08 -- Daimler Chief Executive Officer Ola Kaellenius discusses expanding in China and partnering with BMW. He speaks with Bloomberg's Christoph Rauwald from CES in Las Vegas.
- Bloomberg
Mercedes Considers More Hybrids at High-Performance AMG Unit
(Bloomberg) -- Mercedes-Benz is considering adding more plug-in hybrids to its AMG performance-car lineup, as the world’s top-selling luxury carmaker seeks to balance consumer demand for roaring combustion power with government pressure to meet stricter emission rules.Fleet customers of Daimler AG’s main brand have responded well to a growing list of hybrid models for sale, ranging from compacts to full-size vehicles, Mercedes-Benz sales chief Britta Seeger said in an interview. Private consumers are also increasingly willing to consider alternatives to traditional gasoline or diesel engines, she said.“Over the past 12 to 18 months we’ve really seen a mindset change and people are becoming much more open toward electric and hybrid cars,” Seeger said. “I see a lot of potential for AMG to grow further, both with traditional performance models as well as electrified versions like the upcoming GT 4-Door Coupe hybrid,” she said.Traditional automakers have been forced to rethink the market as they confront new emissions rules, rapidly changing technology and potent competition from the likes of e-car pioneer Tesla Inc. and new tech-industry entrants. The road is particularly treacherous for performance brands like AMG that rely on the growl of a big engine to attract well-heeled customers.With consumer demand for fully electric cars still unproven, hybrids may offer an attractive way for AMG to adapt without alienating range-anxious drivers unwilling to move away from combustion altogether.The GT 4-Door Coupe, a plug-in hybrid first shown as a concept in 2017, is due out this year. It pairs a gasoline-powered V8 with a hybrid drive unit derived from the Formula One racing program -- an approach that delivers more than 800 horsepower, underscoring AMG’s high-performance roots. AMG also is developing a two-seat supercar called the Project One, and is considering a plug-in hybrid version of the AMG 63 coupe and other models.Turbulent TimesDaimler’s main carmaking unit faced a turbulent 2019 that saw record global deliveries while profit margins were squeezed and regulatory costs rose. In its latest profit warning, the company said Wednesday that legal expenses related to diesel cheating allegations also hurt last year’s results.Still, there was good news as Mercedes-Benz outsold archrival BMW AG for another year to keep the luxury crown. Demand for upscale cars proved more resilient than the general market -- a trend Seeger expects to continue -- even as tariffs, Brexit and geopolitical tensions keep manufacturers on high alert.“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to make concrete forecasts,” Seeger said. “I remain optimistic because demand for individual mobility and wealth creation in major markets continues to grow.”Like other European automakers facing tighter emissions rules, Daimler has pressed forward with plans to introduce a slew of fully electric cars. Last year it rolled out the EQC SUV, a competitor to Tesla’s Model X. The fully electric EQS concept shown in September, a sibling of the flagship S-Class sedan, will serve as a basis for more purely battery-powered luxury cars as Daimler aims to offer more than 10 fully electric models by 2022.“Demand for the EQC is high and customer feedback is very positive,” Seeger said.Mercedes-Benz plans to produce around 50,000 EQC cars this year, a Daimler spokesman said in a statement late Thursday. He said the target remains unchanged, dismissing a media report that said the goal has been lowered due to battery supply bottlenecks. In December, Daimler delayed the EQC’s U.S. launch to sell more cars in Europe, which would help meet fleet CO2 requirements in the region.Project OneFully electric AMGs may be considered at some point. For now, the unit will test the waters with the GT 4-Door and the plug-in Project One, planned for 2021. That car will supplement a 1.6 liter V6 engine with four electric motors, propelling it to 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph) in less than six seconds. Electric mode lasts for just 25 kilometers. For the C63 and other models, plans are still fluid.While the global light-vehicle market is forecast to shrink for a second straight year, according to Moody’s, prospects look more encouraging in the premium-car segment, where buyers are less price sensitive. Still, profit margins from hybrid and electric cars are lower than for traditional vehicles.Maintaining the price discipline to avoid steep discounts will be critical for Mercedes-Benz to protect returns.“It’s very important that we ensure profitable growth, not only chase volume,” Seeger said.(Adds comments on EQC demand in 11th paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Frank ConnellyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Daimler to build 50,000 Mercedes EQC models this year
Daimler on Thursday said it plans to build 50,000 Mercedes EQC electric cars this year, denying a report in Manager Magazin which claimed it had been forced to pare back its 2020 production targets due to battery supply problems. Manager Magazin said Mercedes had slashed its production target to 30,000 from about 60,000 because of a shortage of battery cells from LG Chem .
- Reuters - UK Focus
DAVOS-Trump threatens big tariffs on car imports from EU
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to impose high tariffs on imports of cars from the European Union if the bloc doesn't agree to a trade deal. Trump has previously made threats to place duties on European automobile imports, with the intent of receiving better terms in the U.S.-Europe trade relationship. Trump has delayed imposing the tariffs a number of times.
- Bloomberg
Daimler Bears Cost of Hardball Diesel-Allegations Response
(Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.Daimler AG’s hard-nosed strategy to fight off diesel-cheating allegations is proving to be costly.More than four years after German rival Volkswagen AG admitted to rigging emissions tests, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars denies it too used illegal defeat devices. Regulators and consumers aren’t convinced, and the expense of defending the allegations is mounting.Daimler said Wednesday that it will set aside between 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) and 1.5 billion euros in legal and government costs, in addition to struggles that halved 2019 profits and pushed results below expectations.The company has had to recall at least 774,000 diesel cars in Germany, after insisting for years its engines comply with emission rules. The costs squeezed returns at the main Mercedes-Benz car unit and drove the smaller vans division to a significant loss.Daimler’s third profit warning in less than 9 months offers a fresh reminder that the woes embroiling the world’s best-selling luxury-car maker and biggest truck manufacturer are largely rooted in homegrown problems, rather than broader industry headwinds. While trade tensions, tariffs and a general automotive slowdown have hurt results, the legal costs are rising and production hiccups affected key sport-utility vehicles last year.“What’s truly remarkable is the fact that Chief Executive Officer Ola Kaellenius hasn’t taken more action with respect to his divisional leadership teams,” Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said in a note. “Broadly speaking, the same people are in charge.”Daimler shares were down 1.5% as of 1:46 p.m. in Frankfurt.Group earnings before interest and taxes fell to 5.6 billion euros for the year, the German manufacturer said in a statement. Profit at Mercedes-Benz cars roughly halved to 3.7 billion euros, as the operating return on sales eroded to 4% from 7.8% in the previous year. The Stuttgart-based manufacturer retained its luxury-car lead over BMW AG, but margins slumped below the level of French mass-market manufacturer PSA Group.The van unit swung to a 2.4 billion-euro loss from 300 million euros in profit the prior year. The division has been hard-hit by the diesel-engine recalls, and costs for culling production of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup truck in South America added to the pain.The company may reduce its dividend by more than half to 1.60 euros per share this year, said Tom Narayan, an analyst at RBC Europe. “We do not believe Daimler faces a liquidity risk even with increased one-time provisions,” he said in a note.Kallenius has embarked on a major restructuring since taking over as CEO last May. The company plans to shed more than 10,000 jobs worldwide to save about 1.4 billion euros in personnel costs alone.It hasn’t specified the overall cost-savings targeted, and has stated a labor deal remains in place that rules out forced layoffs among its domestic German workforce.(Adds analyst comment in sixth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Daimler profits halve on diesel and restructuring charges
Daimler warned its earnings halved in 2019 and it faced further charges of up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion)related to diesel pollution, in the latest blow to the German luxury carmaker. The profit downgrade, blamed on restructuring costs at the company's vans and mobility services divisions, is the third under new CEO Ola Kaellenius and the fifth in 19 months. Daimler announced preliminary 2019 results ahead of their full release on Feb. 11, saying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were expected to tumble to 5.6 billion euros ($6.2 billion) from 11.1 billion euros in 2018.
- Bloomberg
Daimler, BAIC Top Brass Are Said to Meet on Possible Deeper Ties
(Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG’s chief executive officer and BAIC Group’s chairman plan to meet Wednesday in Beijing, possibly to discuss an expansion of their Chinese joint venture and deeper ties between the carmakers, according to people familiar with the matter.One scenario is for the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars to increase its stake in their existing venture to a majority holding, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations.A deal would boost Mercedes-Benz’s presence in its largest market, a move that would be similar to one made a year ago by luxury competitor BMW AG with its local partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.. Successful cooperation with Daimler is also critical for BAIC, whose domestic brand and separate venture with Hyundai Motor Co. have been hard hit by the Chinese market’s decline.Representatives for the companies declined to comment on the meeting between Daimler’s Ola Kallenius and BAIC’s Xu Heyi. An agreement may not be reached at the meeting due to the complex nature of any possible deal, the people said.BAIC, a state-owned company controlled by the Beijing municipal government, has separately been said to be preparing to lift its stake in Daimler to as high as 9.9% from 5% to be on par with Chinese rival Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Geely, owned by billionaire Li Shufu, bought its stake in 2018, becoming the German luxury-car maker’s biggest shareholder.A move by BAIC to raise its holding in Daimler could open the door for the German company to boost its 49% stake in their main Chinese joint venture. Bloomberg News reported in December, 2018 on the possibility of Daimler holding at least 65%.Read more: China’s BAIC Is Said to Mull Raising Daimler Stake to Almost 10%For Daimler’s new management team, balancing the interests of two competing Chinese shareholders is adding another layer of complexity to an already difficult task of cutting costs at domestic operations to restore squeezed returns. The company has mapped out plans to shed more than 10,000 jobs to save about 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in personnel costs alone.\--With assistance from Tian Ying.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Haze Fan in Beijing at hfan40@bloomberg.net;Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Tara PatelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
China’s BAIC Mulls Raising Daimler Stake to Almost 10%
(Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG’s chief executive officer and BAIC Group’s chairman plan to meet Wednesday in Beijing, possibly to discuss an expansion of their Chinese joint venture and deeper ties between the carmakers, according to people familiar with the matter.One scenario is for the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars to increase its stake in their existing venture to a majority holding, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations.A deal would boost Mercedes-Benz’s presence in its largest market, a move that would be similar to one made a year ago by luxury competitor BMW AG with its local partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd.. Successful cooperation with Daimler is also critical for BAIC, whose domestic brand and separate venture with Hyundai Motor Co. have been hard hit by the Chinese market’s decline.Representatives for the companies declined to comment on the meeting between Daimler’s Ola Kallenius and BAIC’s Xu Heyi. An agreement may not be reached at the meeting due to the complex nature of any possible deal, the people said.BAIC, a state-owned company controlled by the Beijing municipal government, has separately been said to be preparing to lift its stake in Daimler to as high as 9.9% from 5% to be on par with Chinese rival Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Geely, owned by billionaire Li Shufu, bought its stake in 2018, becoming the German luxury-car maker’s biggest shareholder.A move by BAIC to raise its holding in Daimler could open the door for the German company to boost its 49% stake in their main Chinese joint venture. Bloomberg News reported in December, 2018 on the possibility of Daimler holding at least 65%.Read more: China’s BAIC Is Said to Mull Raising Daimler Stake to Almost 10%For Daimler’s new management team, balancing the interests of two competing Chinese shareholders is adding another layer of complexity to an already difficult task of cutting costs at domestic operations to restore squeezed returns. The company has mapped out plans to shed more than 10,000 jobs to save about 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in personnel costs alone.\--With assistance from Tian Ying.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Haze Fan in Beijing at hfan40@bloomberg.net;Christoph Rauwald in Frankfurt at crauwald@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Tara PatelFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters - UK Focus
Motor racing-Mercedes to debut 2020 F1 car on Valentine's Day
Formula One world champions Mercedes have scheduled a Valentine's Day debut for the car Lewis Hamilton would love to take him to a seventh title this season. The team said in a statement on Friday that an initial shakedown run will take place in private at Silverstone circuit on Feb. 14. Mercedes have won both the driver's and constructor's championships for the past six years but could face a tougher challenge from Ferrari and Red Bull in a season without major changes.
- Bloomberg
Inside Tesla’s Attack on Germany’s Auto Establishment
(Bloomberg) -- German rangers stand guard to shoo away visitors from a nondescript stretch of forest near Berlin, where a sign nearby warns of “Lebensgefahr” (mortal danger).The precautions are part of the frantic activity underway to set up Tesla Inc.’s latest assembly plant, Elon Musk’s most daring attack on the German auto establishment. Workers wielding metal detectors have started combing through an area covering some 200 football fields to search for errant ammunition lurking beneath the sandy surface of tiny Gruenheide.It’s the first stage to prepare a site that could churn out as many as 500,000 cars a year, employ 12,000 people and pose a serious challenge to Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG and BMW AG. Once deemed free of World War II explosives, harvesters and trucks will roll in to clear thousands of trees in the first stage of development. The work needs to be done by the end of February to meet Tesla’s aggressive timetable. The project represents a second chance for the quiet town, nestled between two lakes on the edge of a nature reserve southeast of Berlin.Gruenheide lost out on a similar factory two decades ago, when BMW opted for Leipzig. That missed opportunity helped town officials to move quickly when Tesla expressed interest in building its first European factory in Germany, with a plot set aside for industrial use and offering easy access to the Autobahn and rail lines.Read More: Elon Musk’s German Factory Started With Love Letter From Berlin“The investment is a unique opportunity,” Mayor Arne Christiani said in his office, where a map of the Tesla project hangs on the wall. “It gives young people with a good education or a university degree the possibility to stay in our region—an option that didn’t exist in past years.”If it clears Germany’s red tape, the plant will make batteries, powertrains and vehicles, including the Model Y crossover, the Model 3 sedan and any future cars, according to company filings. The factory hall will include a pressing plant, paint shop and seat manufacturing in a building that will be 744 meters (2,440 feet) long—nearly triple the length of the Titanic. There’s space for four such facilities.Musk is taking his fight for the future of transport into the heartland of the combustion engine, where the established players long laughed off Tesla as an upstart on feeble financial footing that couldn’t compete with their rich engineering heritage. He casually dropped the news at an awards ceremony in Berlin in November, leaving the top brass of Germany’s car industry shell-shocked.“Elon Musk is going where his strongest competitors are, right into the heart of the global auto industry,” said Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst with Bankhaus Metzler. “No other foreign carmaker has done that in decades given Germany’s high wages, powerful unions and high taxes.”Building a factory in Europe’s largest car market is a major test of Musk’s global ambitions. Demand in the region is flat, and buyers are more loyal to local brands. Meanwhile, labor costs in Germany’s auto sector are 50% higher than in the U.S. and five times what they are in Poland, just an hour’s drive away from Gruenheide.Gruenheide TimelineEnd February: Finish tree logging before migrant birds nest March 5: Deadline for comments from nearby residents March 18: Public meeting to discuss the project Mid-2020: Construction expected to begin July 2021: Targeted start of productionOn the positive side, electric cars require less labor to build, and Germany has a deep reserve of auto experts. The location also offers the soft-power advantage of proximity to the country’s leaders.Under pressure for being slow to pick up on the electric-car shift, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government extended a welcoming hand to Musk. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier offered to try to ease regulatory hurdles that may snag construction. “There’s a lot at stake” in Tesla’s plan, he said soon after the project was announced.Musk’s incursion comes at a strategically opportune time. Riding a wave of optimism after successfully starting deliveries of its China-built Model 3 sedans a year after breaking ground on a factory there, Tesla’s stock has doubled in the past three months.Meanwhile, German peers are struggling with the costly shift away from combustion engines. Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler announced thousands of job cuts last year, when German car production fell to its lowest level in almost a quarter of a century. For Gruenheide, the planned investment has suddenly transformed the town of 8,700 people into a sought-after location. Local officials receive development proposals on a daily basis: anything from 22-story apartment towers to U.S.-style shopping malls, said Christiani, who hopes the plant will help unlock financing for public transport, schools and medical facilities.In the town hall, five thick binders are available for locals to peruse the project’s details, including 463 trucks expected to roll into the plant each day, a rail spur for train deliveries and an on-site fire brigade.Tesla still has to jump through a number of hoops. Residents have the chance to raise objections, and some have bemoaned that they’ve seen little from the company since its blockbuster announcement. Meanwhile, the local water utility warned it won’t be able to supply the site in time and raised concerns over its location in a zone meant to help protect drinking water supplies.And then the company has to carry out initiatives to protect wildlife—including scaring off any wolves in the area, relocating hibernating bats and removing lizards and snakes until construction is finished. The U.S. carmaker also has to replace felled trees.The mayor expects these hurdles to be cleared so that the first made-in-Gruenheide Teslas can roll out in July 2021.“The forest is classified as a harvest-ready, inferior pine forest,” Christiani said. “It was never supposed to be a rain forest.”—With assistance from Hayley Warren (Adds criticism from water utility in 17th paragraph.)To contact the author of this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Reiter at creiter2@bloomberg.net, Craig TrudellChad ThomasFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Toyota Makes a New $394 Million Bet on Flying Taxis
(Bloomberg) -- Toyota Motor Corp. is making a $394 million investment in Joby Aviation, one of the handful of companies with the seemingly implausible goal of making electric air taxis that shuttle people over gridlocked highways and city streets.Toyota is the lead investor in Joby’s $590 million Series C funding, alongside Baillie Gifford and Global Oryx and prior backers Intel Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, JetBlue Technology Ventures, SPARX Group and its own investment arm, Toyota AI Ventures. The deal, for now, makes the Santa Cruz, California-based Joby the best-funded “eVTOL” (electric vertical take-off and landing) startup in a booming category that must overcome significant regulatory hurdles and concerns about passenger safety and noise, bringing the total money it has raised to $720 million.“Air transportation has been a long-term goal for Toyota, and while we continue our work in the automobile business, this agreement sets our sights to the sky,” said Toyota President and Chief Executive Officer Akio Toyoda. “As we take up the challenge of air transportation together with Joby, an innovator in the emerging eVTOL space, we tap the potential to revolutionize future transportation and life.”Over the past year, the 82-year Japanese automaker has deepened its interests in futuristic transportation technologies. Last year it backed Recogni Inc., a Silicon Valley maker of autonomous vehicle systems, and May Mobility, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based operator of self-driving shuttle buses. At CES earlier this month, Toyota announced its intention to build a 175-acre community, or “Woven City”, at the base of Mount Fuji to serve as a showcase for self-driving cars and other innovations in transportation.Joby is an emerging player in a field of air-taxi companies that includes Airbus SE; South Korean automaker Hyundai, which recently announced plans to design and produce an air taxi with Uber Technologies Inc.; and Kitty Hawk, the brainchild of Alphabet co-founder Larry Page, which is developing an air taxi in conjunction with Boeing Co. Volocopter, a startup in Germany, is backed by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., the biggest investor in Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler AG and owner of Swedish manufacturer Volvo and British automaker Lotus.In addition to announcing the funding, Joby released an image of its prototype aircraft. The vehicle, which looks like an oversized toy drone, sports six electric propellers and is capable of flying 150 miles on a single charge, at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, the company said. It’s designed to carry four passengers and a pilot, an approach that differs from that of rivals such as Kitty Hawk, whose two-seat “Cora” vehicle is intended to fly autonomously, without an onboard pilot.Joby says it will manufacture prototypes at a facility in Marina, California, near Monterey, but plans to tap Toyota’s famous manufacturing prowess to build “highly reliable complex hardware at increased scale,” said Paul Sciarra, Joby’s executive chairman and a co-founder of Pinterest.In December, Joby and Uber announced a separate partnership to jointly introduce Joby air taxis in at least two cities, with customers booking and paying for flights via the Uber app.The most pressing challenge for Joby, which now has around 400 employees, is obtaining certification from the Federal Aviation Authority and other regulatory agencies around the world. Joby says this is a three- to five-year process that it formally began in 2018.Over the past few years, both the FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have moved to support commercial development of air taxis and released special guidelines to regulate small aircraft, with rules that differ from those governing conventional helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes. Much work remains, said Robin Lineberger, head of the Aerospace & Defense practice at Deloitte, including creating a system to manage municipal airspace in both normal and poor weather conditions and building physical infrastructure such as mini-airports that can support frequent takeoffs, landings and aircraft recharging.“The 2023 to 2025 time frame is fairly straightforward” for small demonstrations, Lineberger said. But he looks to 2035 “as a practical date for having a ubiquitous operational fleet in the thousands—not the hundreds—with a well-established framework for regulatory approval.”Sciarra and Joeben Bevirt, Joby’s founder and CEO, say they’ve spent significant time with Toyoda in Toyota City, Japan, as well as with other Toyota executives at Joby’s headquarters on a windy, 500-acre ranch in the hills north of Santa Cruz. They would not say whether they offered them a ride on the prototype aircraft, but Bevirt said: “They’re a loyal and tenacious company and this has been a dream of the Toyoda family for a very long time.”To contact the author of this story: Brad Stone in San Francisco at bstone12@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Dimitra Kessenides at dkessenides1@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Aston Martin Is a Binge Too Far for China’s Geely
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Timing is everything in investing, a refrain the ambitious Li Shufu might want to heed.The Geely Group has held preliminary talks about a possible investment in Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc, the high-end but encumbered British carmaker of James Bond fame. Billionaire Lawrence Stroll, owner of the Racing Point Formula One team, is also among the investors looking to pump in fresh capital. At first blush, this isn’t surprising. Struggling to dent the world market with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.’s(1) own vehicles, the Chinese auto executive has developed a modus operandi of appearing to ascend the value chain by picking up marquee brands, financially precarious though they may be. Through his holding company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Li splashed out $9 billion to build a 9.7% stake in Mercedes Benz-maker Daimler AG in 2018. Zhejiang Geely owns or has stakes in Volvo AB, Lotus Cars, Malaysia’s Proton Holdings Bhd and even a flying car company, Terrafugia Inc., either directly or through its subsidiaries.Li is trying to stay ahead of the expensive technology curve. Earlier this month, Geely set up a joint venture with Daimler to make the electric version of Smart cars in China. The company has an electric vehicle battery joint venture with South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd. Geely has also used Volvo Car Group in a joint venture to subsidize Lynk & Co., a more upmarket version of Geely’s homegrown brands that’s so far sold primarily in China.So, Aston Martin seems to fits in. But this time, Li has more to consider: business at home. Geely Auto sold 1.36 million cars last year, posting $2.8 billion in profit for the 12 months to June 30, but the Chinese market is struggling to find a footing. Retail car sales tumbled more than 7% in 2019, with production down 9.5%. All told, sales in the world’s largest car market are shrinking and the competition to survive is getting stiffer. The outlook is grim. While new car buyers accounted for two-thirds of sales over the last five years, the next five will likely be driven by replacement demand, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. forecasts. To keep up with upgrading consumers, most automakers, including Geely, are rolling out new models of multi-purpose vehicles (the category that lies between SUVs and family vans). Sure, Geely is investing in a future of electric cars, but the costs for mass adoption remain high. Geely has done better through the downturn by maintaining a fine balance between production, sales and inventory. But it has had to slash sales targets, moving further away from its goal of selling 2 million vehicles by 2020. While Lynk sales volumes rose, net profit fell. Research and development costs continue to climb. Geely remains exposed to lower-tier cities, where demand has cratered.Vanity buying is best saved for more upbeat times. Investing in Aston Martin will be a cash sink, premium brand or not. Low as the price may be, a stake won’t add value to Li’s auto portfolio any time soon given its debt burden and a struggling core business. The Geely group should have other priorities, especially its finances. Debt at Zhejiang Geely totaled 136 billion yuan ($19 billion) at the end of September 2019, up from 92 billion yuan a year earlier. Previous stake purchases have come with leverage. To buy Daimler, for instance, Geely took to using complex derivatives. Its ratio of net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose to 1.4 times in 2018 from 0.6 times in 2017, according to S&P Global Intelligence, because it took on a fair amount of debt to fund the acquisition of its 8% stake in Volvo AB. The credit rater estimated that the leverage ratio could rise further on lower sales and shrinking margins. Meanwhile, the parent actively supports various operations at subsidiaries.Geely may find the slow lane is best for now. (1) 44.1% owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Co.To contact the author of this story: Anjani Trivedi at atrivedi39@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick McDowell at pmcdowell10@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Anjani Trivedi is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Asia. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Mercedes-Benz to build smart brand cars with Geely in China's Xi'an: senior executive
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz will build smart-branded electric cars with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in the Chinese city of Xian from a base with annual capacity of around 150,000 vehicles, a senior official from its German parent Daimler AG said on Saturday. Daimler's Executive Vice President in China Leng Yan made the comments to Reuters on the sidelines of China's EV100 forum in Beijing, an annual event where senior auto industry executives meet to discuss policies and the market. Geely and Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday they would each invest 2.7 billion yuan ($388.8 million) in a China-based venture to build "premium and intelligent electrified" vehicles under the Smart brand.
- Reuters
Mercedes-Benz to build smart brand cars with Geely in China's Xi'an: senior exec
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz will build smart-branded electric cars with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group [GEELY.UL] in the Chinese city of Xian from a base with annual capacity of around 150,000 vehicles, a senior official from its German parent Daimler AG said on Saturday. Daimler's Executive Vice President in China Leng Yan made the comments to Reuters on the sidelines of China's EV100 forum in Beijing, an annual event where senior auto industry executives meet to discuss policies and the market. Geely and Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday they would each invest 2.7 billion yuan ($388.8 million) in a China-based venture to build "premium and intelligent electrified" vehicles under the Smart brand.
- Reuters
China's Geely in talks to take stake in Aston Martin
The Chinese group is conducting due diligence on the 107-year-old UK business, the cars of which are the drive of choice for fictional British secret agent James Bond, the FT reported, citing four people familiar with the discussions. News of Geely's interest comes a month after Aston Martin confirmed it was in early talks with potential investors as it launched a review of its funding.
- Reuters
Soaring SUV sales keep carmakers on collision course with climate policy
Soaring demand for SUVs drove record sales for premium carmakers including BMW and Mercedes last year, leaving the industry on collision course with government efforts to tackle global warming despite big investments in electric vehicles. BMW said on Friday deliveries by its main luxury brand rose 2% to a record 2,168,516 vehicles last year, thanks to a 21% jump in sales of its "X" branded sport-utility vehicles (SUV) which now make up 44% of the BMW brand's global sales. At Mercedes-Benz, the world's best selling premium car brand, every third luxury car sold last year was an SUV.
- Reuters
BMW says it sold 2.52 million BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles in 2019
BMW said it sold 2.52 million BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles in 2019, making it the best-selling premium car group, ahead of rival Daimler . Daimler said on Thursday it had sold 2.34 million Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in 2019 for a ninth consecutive year of record sales.. BMW said its BMW brand posted a sales record of 2.17 million vehicles in 2019.
- Reuters
Mercedes-Benz poised to clinch premium sales crown for 2019
Daimler sold 2.34 million Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in 2019 for a ninth consecutive year of record sales, it said on Thursday, putting the German carmaker in pole position to retain the title of biggest-selling premium car brand. Stuttgart-based Daimler claimed it had retained the title of best-selling luxury car brand. As a carmaking group, BMW sold 2.52 million vehicles last year to beat Daimler's 2.46 million Mercedes-Benz and Smart vehicles over the same period.
- Reuters
Geely, Mercedes-Benz launch $780 million JV to make electric smart-branded cars
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd [GEELY.UL] and Mercedes-Benz on Wednesday said they would each invest 2.7 billion yuan (295.98 million pounds) in a China-based venture to build "premium and intelligent electrified" vehicles under the smart brand. The 50:50 venture has received regulatory approval and will be based in the Chinese coastal city of Ningbo, the Chinese and German automakers said in a statement. Like Mercedes-Benz, smart is a Daimler AG marque.
