Daimler drives on to record sales

FRANKFURT: German top-ofthe-range carmaker Daimler said on Thursday that it sold a record number of vehicles worldwide in the second quarter, driven largely by strong demand for its flagship Mercedes-Benz brand.

Daimler said in a statement that it sold 761,3340 cars and commercial vehicles in the period from April to June, an increase of seven per cent over the year-earlier period.

That strong performance pushed second-quarter revenues up by three per cent to 38.6 billion euros ($42.6 billion) and bottom-line net profit also up by three per cent to 2.45 billion euros, the statement said.

Underlying or operating profit, as measured by earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), climbed by six per cent to 3.97 billion euros.

Daimler said sales of its MercedesBenz cars grew by nine per cent to 546,517 units in the April-June period.

By contrast, sales of trucks were down 13 per cent at 108,282 units owing to weakness primarily American region.

Looking ahead, chief executive Dieter Zetsche was confident for the remainder of the year.

“We are starting the second half of the year with record unit sales and will systematically continue along our path,” Zetsche said.

“We continue to grow profitably and are well on the way to achieving our forecasts for the full year,” said chief financial officer Bodo Uebber.

“We intend to make 2016 into another successful year for Daimler. However, the markets remain volatile,” he added. in the North