Mercedes-Benz stocking inventory in US ahead of tariffs, analyst note says

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Mercedes-Benz held closed call with investors ahead of results

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Carmaker stocking inventory ahead of tariffs planned for April 3

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Tariffs would hit margin by 2.5pp before mitigation - execs

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Q1 results expected within full-year guidance - analysts

BERLIN, April 1 (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz is building up inventory levels in the U.S. at the wholesale level and at dealer lots to get ahead of tariffs due to be collected from April 3, executives told analysts on a call on Monday, according to notes by analysts.

Asked about pricing, executives said no carmaker was operating in a silo, implying it would observe how its competitors responded once tariffs were in place, the note by Bernstein Research said.

Mercedes-Benz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The investor call was held before a closed period on company information before annual results scheduled for April 30.

Carmakers are weighing whether and by how much to raise prices, with companies reluctant to reveal their plans and risk retribution from President Donald Trump, who has made clear his intention is for carmakers to move production to the United States.

Mercedes-Benz said the planned 25% tariff on auto imports would likely impact its margin by 2.5 percentage points on a gross basis, before any mitigation measures.

Its first-quarter results were all within its full-year guidance, according to analyst notes by Bernstein Research and Jefferies, with earnings of 1.57 billion euros ($1.70 billion)expected on a margin of 6.4%.

First-quarter sales were slightly below last year's due to weaker performance in China and Europe, according to the notes.

Mercedes-Benz Cars and Vans together sold 374,000 vehicles in the U.S. in 2024, making up 15.6% of total global sales. ($1 = 0.9249 euros) (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Kim Coghill)