Daimler reported sturdy first-quarter earnings, pushed by sturdy demand for Mercedes-Benz automobiles, notably in China.

Group earnings earlier than curiosity and tax had been 5.75 billion euros ($6.9 billion) for the primary three months, the corporate stated in a preliminary earnings statement on Friday.

Daimler cited gross sales momentum in all main areas in addition to price cuts as serving to development.

“We proceed to execute on our ambitions in a really encouraging market surroundings,” CEO Ola Kaellenius stated within the assertion. “Our systematic efforts to decrease the break-even level of the corporate have gotten more and more seen.”

Mercedes’ first-quarter world automobile gross sales climbed 22 % to 581,270 models, with a 60 % bounce in China deliveries, the automaker stated earlier this month.

A yr after one of many bleakest interval in a long time for luxurious German automakers, enterprise this time of yr has by no means been higher. Each Mercedes and BMW reported file first-quarter deliveries as industrywide gross sales had been sturdy within the U.S. and Europe.

Automakers’ issues have shifted dramatically from demand to provide points, with the worldwide chip scarcity hampering manufacturing.

Daimler, which has remained largely unaffected thus far, didn’t touch upon the chip crunch.

Reuters contributed to this report

“Daimler’s shift to higher-margin autos in gentle of the semiconductor scarcity subject seemingly helped propel margins above regular ranges,” Tom Narayan, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, stated in a word.

“We might anticipate BMW may additionally pre-announce equally — doubtlessly even higher, given excessive used-car automobile publicity — and doubtlessly VW as properly.”

Daimler will launch full quarterly outcomes on April 23.