Daimler Q1 $2.3B Loss

[phillyc]

Seems just about everyone is in distress.

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...2575AF0025DE81

MERCEDES-BENZ parent company Daimler AG has posted a net operating loss of €1.286 billion ($A2.287b) for the first three months of 2009, easily making it Europe’s worst-performing volume car-maker in the first quarter of this year.

Daimler’s Q1 2009 loss, announced last week, is almost as big as its Q4 2008 net profit of €1.332 billion ($A2.353b) and presents a stark contrast to its most direct rival in BMW AG, which yesterday (May 6) posted a relatively meagre €55 million ($A97.2m) operating loss before interest and taxes.

However, both premium German brands were out-performed by Volkswagen Group, the largest European car-maker that overtook Ford last year, and its luxury division, Audi.

As we reported last week, new mainstream models and European government “scrappage” incentives for new-car buyers helped Volkswagen to record a €243 million ($A448m) profit in the first quarter compared with a €929 million ($A1.7b) in the same period last year – which nonetheless represented a 74 per cent profit slump after sales dropped 16 per cent to 1.35 million units.