Mercedes-Benz Posts 50% BEV Surge in Europe as Labor Protests Escalate Over Cost-Cutting Push
Published on 07/09/2026 at 18:12 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
The Stuttgart automaker is navigating a tale of two continents. While Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles are flying off showroom floors in Europe and North America, workers are driving through the city in a 250-vehicle protest convoy, and the stock is hovering just above its 52-week low. The shares closed at €44.01 on the day of the demonstration, down 1.29%, as the standoff between management and staff weighs on sentiment.
The company delivered 511,900 vehicles in the second quarter of 2026, up 2% from the previous three months. The improvement was driven by gains of 13% in North America, 4% in Europe and 6% in Germany. But the real headline is electric: global sales of battery-electric vehicles jumped 50% to roughly 63,000 units. In Europe, the BEV surge was even sharper at 87%, pushing the regional EV mix to 26%. Hot models include the electric variants of the GLC, CLA and GLB, alongside the new S-Class.
That electric momentum, however, masks a deepening crisis in China. Sales in the world’s largest auto market collapsed by 30% in the second quarter to just 98,600 units. Over the first half of the year, Mercedes sold 1.01 million vehicles worldwide, a 6% decline from the same period in 2025. Profit had already slid 17.2% in the first quarter, and the combination of shrinking margins and a weak China business is forcing the board to crack down on costs.
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The austerity drive has triggered a heated labor conflict. IG Metall organized a motorcade through Stuttgart under the banner “Now it counts! Priority for solidarity.” At issue is the postponement of special payments for roughly 90,000 employees until 2027. On top of that, management is reportedly pushing for a 40-hour work week without full wage compensation. Union representatives have pushed back hard, insisting that workers must not be used as “piggy banks” for the industry.
The stock’s technical picture underscores the strain. Year to date, the share price has lost 28.61%, and it has fallen 8.16% over the past month. At €44.01, it sits just 3.21% above the 52-week trough of €42.64 reached in late June, and more than 30% below the 52-week peak of €62.30 from December 2025. The equity is trading 8.46% below its 50-day moving average and 19.42% below the 200-day line, while the relative strength index of 38.4 suggests a battered but not yet oversold stock.
Meanwhile, a purely technical transition is taking place in the background. Starting July 15, 2026, Mercedes-Benz International Finance B.V. will take over as the issuer of several bonds worth a combined €3.5 billion, with maturities in 2029, 2030 and 2034. The original parent company guarantees remain in place, and the move does not affect the credit quality of the notes.
New models are expected to help improve profitability in the second half of the year. The refreshed S-Class and GLE are on the way, and the GLA EQ will begin reaching dealers in July. Investors will get a fuller picture when the Stuttgart group publishes detailed second-quarter financials and an updated profit outlook at the end of the month. Whether the labor dispute will escalate enough to disrupt production at German plants remains the big unknown—and the factor most likely to overshadow EV gains in the West.
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