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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)