Mercedes-Benz Debuts Steer-by-Wire in the EQS as China's 31% Slide Drags the Stock Toward Its Yearly Low
Published on 10/08/2026 at 01:40 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Mercedes-Benz has begun taking orders for a steer-by-wire system across every EQS market worldwide, positioning itself as the first German automaker to bring the technology to a series-production passenger car. The optional extra carries a price of EUR 2,500 before VAT in Germany, or EUR 2,975 including it.
The system removes the mechanical link between the steering wheel and the front axle, a step the Stuttgart group frames as a way to reinforce its engineering credentials in the high-prestige luxury sedan segment. It arrives at an awkward moment, with competitive pressure and shifting demand patterns keeping the broader market environment difficult.
A Quarter of Two Halves
Preliminary third-quarter delivery figures paint a mixed picture. Group-wide sales fell 6% to 491,700 vehicles, with the passenger-car business absorbing the losses while the van division held its ground, posting 84,400 units.
The regional split tells a sharper story. Chinese passenger-car deliveries collapsed 31% to 86,800 units. In Europe, by contrast, Mercedes-Benz reported that annual allocations for the electric CLA, GLC, GLB and GLA models are already sold out, with order books stretching well into the following year.
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For the passenger-car segment alone, worldwide deliveries came to 407,200 units, an 8% decline from the year-earlier period. Weak demand in Asia weighed heavily on the quarter, and the retreat in China — the group's single most important market — underscores the headwinds facing European premium manufacturers as competition intensifies and margins come under pressure across the industry.
Buybacks Continue as Management Trims Costs
Alongside the operational news, the company kept up its share repurchase program, reporting the acquisition of 875,000 of its own shares between 28 September and 2 October. The buyback carried a total volume of EUR 35,637,298.00.
On the cost side, Mercedes-Benz plans to reintroduce a voluntary severance program for employees in indirect functions in Germany, likely starting in December. Individual offers will go to employees covered by collective agreements as well as parts of the management team; vehicle production is excluded from the measure.
There is also a potential reprieve on the export front. According to Reuters, backers of a bill targeting Chinese vehicles postponed a planned vote in the US Senate until November. Senator Bernie Moreno said the final version of the legislation should not exclude Mercedes-Benz from selling in the United States.
In the service business, Mercedes-Benz and FUCHS SE extended their strategic partnership, under which the partner will continue supplying tailored lubricant solutions for the automaker's global after-sales network.
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Shares Under Pressure
The stock has been unable to draw support from the technology launch. It changed hands at EUR 39.92, down 1.5%, and at EUR 39.65 in a separate reading, off 2.2%, keeping it close to its 52-week low of EUR 38.91. Media reports attributed the negative reaction to the release of the sales report.
Investors will get the full financial picture — including revenue and margin development — on 28 October 2026, when Mercedes-Benz Group AG publishes its third-quarter interim report and discusses the results on a conference call with the capital markets.
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