Eva Scherer, Chief Financial Officer of Daimler Truck, recently explained in a call with analysts that the company would be cutting its outlook for the second half of 2025 because of its weakness in the North American market.
Scherer said that although US tariffs had not yet truly affected the company, it expected the indirect impact of the tariffs would cost the company a figure in the low triple-digit million euro range in 2025.
"The tariff impacts didn't hit us so much yet in the second quarter, but they will come into full effect in the second half of the year," explained Scherer, adding that Daimler Truck will absorb some of the costs but still have to pass some on to the customers.
The direct tariffs' impact on Daimler Truck is limited, as the company operates under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.
However, the US tariffs have hit all automakers—cars and trucks, et al.—around the world. Companies are readying for huge financial losses while slashing forecasts, raising vehicle prices, and warning of profit hits.
Daimler Truck, already cutting 5,000 jobs in Germany, announced it was cutting an additional 2,000 jobs in its US and Mexico plants because of reduced production requirements.
Daimler Trucks also owns the US truck brand Freightliner, noting that it would significantly lower the brand’s expected earnings for 2025.
The company said that its weakness is due to the North American segment, not globally, pointing out that it was unchanged for all other global market segments.
Globally, Daimler Truck is doing well, such as the 90 percent increase found in zero-emission vehicle sales and improved profitability in Trucks Asia and Mercedes-Benz Trucks.
Globally, Daimler Truck reported a 9.3 percent adjusted ROS (return on sales), meaning that after adjustments, 9.3 cents of every dollar in revenue was turned into operating profit.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks improved profitability to 5.9 percent compared to 3.1 percent over the same quarter last year. Daimler Buses had an adjusted ROS of 10 percent, and Trucks Asia increased its profit margin to 5.4 percent versus 4.9 percent in the same period last year.