Mercedes-Benz, Porsche Q3 Profits Plummet On US Tariffs, Weak Chinese Demand

German carmakers Mercedes-Benz and Porsche AG have faced deeper financial challenges as tariffs, price wars, and slowing demand in key markets have hit sales.

Mercedes' Q3 net profit tumbled 31% to €1.19 billion, topping FactSet's €1.09 billion consensus. Porsche had a net operating loss of €967 million in Q3, a sharp downturn from a €974 million net operating profit a year earlier. Analysts had expected a €611 million loss.

Germany's once competitive automakers have struggled to maintain sales across Europe, North America, and China, with energy costs are three times higher than in the US. Germany's quarterly GDP has either flatlined or slowed in 10 of the last 12 quarters, with Q3 2025 stagnating.

European Union (EU) "car exports to China are in freefall," Philipp Heimberger, an economist at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies, said on X. "For a time, the North American market offered Europe's carmakers an important offset from the China shock. But this cushion is now vanishing due to US protectionism."

Germany's seasonally adjusted automobile industry output contracted by 18.5% month-on-month in August.

Chinese Demand for European Cars Craters

Mercedes’ deliveries in its key market, China, fell 27% year on year in the third quarter to 125,133 units, the company said in its financial statement on Wednesday. For Porsche, deliveries in China fell 26% to 32,195 units over the same period, the automaker said on October 24.

Chinese car brands, such as BYD, nearly doubled their market share in Europe to 5.1% in H1 2025, despite EU tariffs. In China, domestic brands have captured almost two-thirds of new-car sales by 2025, surpassing Volkswagen Group and contributing to a 14% drop in Mercedes' China sales.

"We expect 2025 to be the trough that precedes a noticeable improvement for Porsche from 2026 onwards," Porsche CFO Jochen Breckner said on October 24 in the company's earnings presentation. The US import tariffs will result in a roughly €700 million hit this year, he said.

German companies have struggled to maintain exports to the US, their largest market, despite the EU and the US avoiding a full-blown trade war. Year-on-year exports of German goods to the US declined sharply, falling 20.1% in August from the same period last year.

Porsche shares rose 3.7% on the same day it released its third-quarter results, buoyed by the company maintaining full-year sales guidance of about €37 to €38 billion. The stock traded higher for the week as investors focused on the robust cash flow of €1.34 billion and the cost discipline of about €3.1 billion for the 2025 financial year.

"In a challenging market environment, we have generated robust cash flow," Breckner said. "We have further sharpened our strategic alignment. Now we are resolutely implementing clear decisions."

Porsche Undergoes Restructuring as Demand Falls

As part of that implementation, Porsche will trim its workforce by 1,900 employees by the end of the decade in response to weak electric vehicle demand and "challenging geopolitical and economic conditions," the company said in February.

The carmaker plans to reduce headcount at two German sites through voluntary measures like early retirement and severance packages. Porsche has followed Volkswagen AG's lead in trying to reduce costs in Germany, where labor and energy are expensive.

Volkswagen had planned to close three plants last year but reached a union deal in December to avert the closures. The car company opted for 35,000 headcount reductions over the next five years.

The carmakers' problems have weakened industries. Total industrial production experienced its steepest decline in 3.7 years in August as EV sales plummeted last year.

Consumer and Current Economic Sentiment Falls

The outlook in Germany remains pessimistic, with consumer and export sentiment showing signs of weakness.

The GfK market research institute and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) Consumer Climate Indicator for November is forecast to decrease by 1.6 points to -24.1 points compared with the previous month, revised to -22.5 points. A decline of 13 points in income expectations caused the drop, NIM said.

"The ongoing tense geopolitical situation, increasing fears of inflation, and again growing concerns about jobs are destroying hopes for a short-term recovery in consumer climate," Rolf Bürkl, Head of Consumer Climate at NIM, said.

Sentiment in the German export industry has declined. The ifo Export Expectations fell to +2.8 points in October, down from +3.4 points in September. The ifo Business Climate Index for Germany rose to 88.4 in October 2025 from 87.7 in September.

"The German export industry is stuck in a rut," Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo, said on Tuesday. "There is no real recovery in sight."

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