The Mercedes group posted a net profit of 23.4 billion euros last year, almost six times the previous year's profit of 4 billion euros.

The group announced this on Thursday in Stuttgart.

The figures also include the truck business, which has since been spun off.

According to the group, the spin-off resulted in a one-off effect that contributed 9 billion euros to profits.

Gustave parts

Business correspondent in Stuttgart.

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Mercedes even benefited indirectly from the effects of the lack of semiconductors.

As a result, the offer became scarce.

The group could charge higher prices for its cars.

Like the entire industry, he built the few available chips into models that make a lot of money.

Mercedes even achieved a sales record for the “top-end vehicles”.

According to CEO Ola Källenius, their sales increased by 30 percent, those of electric cars by two thirds.

The group counts the Maybach luxury sedans, the high-powered AMG models, the angular G-Class, the S-Class, the GLS off-road vehicle and the electric S-Class EQS among the “top-end vehicles”.

In China alone, Mercedes sells more than 1,000 Maybach models every month.

5.35 billion euros for the shareholders

According to its own statements, the group has complied with the European CO2 limits for the new car fleet despite the luxury strategy.

This amounted to 115 grams of CO2 per kilometer and thus undercut the target of 125 grams.

The company also justified the record result with “consistent cost discipline”.

Since 2019, costs in the car division have fallen by 16 percent.

Critics repeatedly complain that despite the record results, the group sends employees on short-time work if chips are missing in production.

The high surpluses should also benefit investors.

Overall, Mercedes wants to pay out 5.35 billion euros to shareholders.

The dividend is to be EUR 5 per share, of which EUR 0.7 will be attributable to Daimler Trucks.

The truck company, which will be presenting its figures at the end of March, will not pay out its own dividend this year.

In the previous year, Daimler paid EUR 1.35 per share.

The high prices paid by customers for Mercedes cars more than offset the lower sales.

The turnover of the entire old Daimler group rose by 9 percent compared to the previous year to 167 billion euros.

In the auto division, sales were down 5 percent while sales were up 11 percent.

For the current year, Mercedes continues to expect delivery bottlenecks due to the lack of semiconductors, but hopes for a stabilization compared to the previous year.

It is "currently not possible to make a forecast as to when the semiconductor shortage will be eliminated".

Electric cars and particularly expensive vehicles should also be preferred in 2022.

Demand remains high.

Sales of the expensive models are expected to increase by 10 percent.

Overall, turnover and sales should increase slightly.

The group is aiming for a return on sales of 11.5 to 13 percent.