The weekly Manager Magazin on Thursday said a possible sale of the vans business - previously seen as sacrosanct - was being discussed as a measure of last resort, citing supervisory board sources.

"This is pure speculation which we expressly deny," a company spokesperson said when asked to respond to the report.

Mercedes-Benz said in May it would focus more narrowly on the luxury segment and cut out some entry-level models with lower margins, part of a plan to put 75% of investment into top-end vehicles and its highest-selling segment of C-Class and E-Class models.

(Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Jon Boyle)