Daimler: $4.3 billion quarterly profit despite chip shortage

Luxury cars are good business even during the pandemic

FRANKFURT, Germany -- German auto maker Daimler reaped strong profits in the second quarter as demand for its Mercedes luxury cars continued to rebound from the depths of the pandemic, generating cash that the company can invest in its shift to electric vehicles. Profit margins reached into double digits for the third quarter in a row at 12.8% thanks to rising sales numbers and vehicles carrying higher profits dominating the sales mix, the Stuttgart-based company said Wednesday. That helped boost the company's cash pile to 20.9 billion euros ($24.6 billion) at the end of the quarter, from 20.1 billion euros at the start. CEO Ola Kallenius said the company would use its cash to invest in electric car technology and developing a more software-focused company. Those are key fields as the industry is disrupted by regulatory demands for zero-emission cars in the next few years, and by the longer-term development of partly or fully autonomous vehicles as well as software-driven services enabling people to use cars only when they need them, such as through smartphone apps. “Our transformation towards emission-free and software-driven mobility is supported by a high level of free cash flow in the industrial business," Kallenius said in a statement. "We are implementing our strategy at full speed.”