The sales slump at Daimler Truck persisted at the start of the year. The truck and bus manufacturer announced on Friday that 68,849 vehicles were sold in the first quarter, representing a nine percent decline compared to the same period last year. Comparative figures exclude the business of the Japanese subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso, which has since been integrated into the Archion joint venture.

North American sales contracted by a quarter, while bus sales fell by a fifth. A bright spot was the 13 percent increase in European business under the Mercedes-Benz Trucks brand. Sales of electric vehicles rose by 26 percent to 742 units.

Daimler Truck is grappling with import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, particularly on goods from Mexico, where the German group operates a plant. Consequently, CFO Eva Scherer had warned of shrinking margins in the North American market during the presentation of financial results in March.

(Reporting by Hakan Ersen, edited by Sabine Wollrab. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)