(Reuters) – German premium automaker Mercedes-Benz on Friday said third-quarter earnings in the core car division plunged by 64% as Chinese consumers continued to cut back on luxury goods off the back of a weakening economy.
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the car unit dropped to 1.2 billion euros ($1.30 billion) versus LSEG’s mean estimate of a 3.6% drop to 3.19 billion euros.
The news comes after the premium carmaker cut its full-year profit margin target twice during the third quarter, joining a growing number of European rivals blaming a weakening Chinese car market for falling profits and margins.
($1 = 0.9242 euros)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev, Editing by Rachel More)