Daimler zeroes in on costs, diesel risk after earnings beat forecasts

Chief executive officer Ola Kallenius, who took charge in May, is preparing to unveil a plan to reduce costs and boost profitability on Nov 14 in London. While strong vehicle sales helped this quarter, costs must fall “significantly” while strengthening cash flow, he said.

MUNICH: Daimler AG said it will intensify efforts to cut costs to manage the industry’s shift to electric vehicles after third-quarter earnings exceeded forecasts, despite weaker profitability from the Mercedes-Benz cars unit.

The world’s biggest luxury-car maker – reeling from two profit warnings this year partly related to diesel-emissions investigations – also said provisions already made to cover the probes might not suffice and could drag on profitability, according to a statement yesterday.