Mercedes-Benz EV Demand Outstrips Supply in Europe as China's 31% Slide Pulls the Stock Toward Its Yearly Low
Published on 10/08/2026 at 21:30 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Mercedes-Benz is selling every electric vehicle it can build for Europe this year, yet that achievement is doing little to lift a share price pinned near its 52-week floor. The Stuttgart automaker's battery-powered lineup has effectively sold out across the continent for the remainder of 2026, with order books extending well into 2027, according to company statements. The models in question span the CLA family along with the GLC, GLB and GLA.
That supply-demand imbalance sits atop a striking set of third-quarter figures. Global deliveries of fully electric passenger cars and vans climbed 52%, and the pure passenger-car EV tally hit a quarterly record of 68,400 units. The broader picture is far less flattering: group-wide vehicle sales, including vans, slipped 6% to 491,700. Within the core Mercedes-Benz Cars division, volumes fell 8% to 407,200 passenger vehicles.
China Emerges as the Decisive Drag
The worldwide decline traces squarely to China, where deliveries tumbled 31% to 86,800 cars in the quarter. Because high-margin luxury models have traditionally generated a substantial share of profits in Asia, the trajectory of that single market now carries outsized weight for the group's earnings power in the quarters ahead. Handelsblatt has reported that the disproportionate losses on Chinese soil are putting visible strain on the balance sheets of German automakers.
The market backdrop has compounded the pressure. The DAX dropped below the 25,000-point mark on Thursday, with oil prices climbing sharply alongside it. Against that weak tape, the fundamental headwinds facing the Stuttgart manufacturer land twice as hard. Investors now face a judgment call: whether the current valuation already discounts the economic risk, or whether another leg down is coming.
Buybacks and Buyouts as Ballast
Management is not standing still. A share repurchase program running through the period from September 28 to October 2 saw the company acquire 875,000 of its own shares for a transaction volume of EUR 35,637,298.00. The broader buyback framework covers up to 58 million shares for a maximum total of EUR 1 billion.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Mercedes-Benz?
Cost discipline forms the second pillar. According to media reports, the board is planning a further voluntary severance program for employees in Germany in December. On the product side, Mercedes-Benz has opened worldwide ordering for its Steer-by-Wire system on the EQS sedan. The optional feature is priced at EUR 2,500 excluding VAT in Germany and includes rear-axle steering with a steering angle of up to 10 degrees.
Paris Stage Set for Product Offensive
Attention now turns to the Paris auto show, running from October 12 to 18, where the GLA and GLE model lines and the electric VLE will make their debuts. Management has scheduled a press conference for October 12 at 14:45 CEST. Momentum from that flagship event could reinforce confidence in the model pipeline.
The stock, meanwhile, remains under the cosh. In recent trading it shed 2.1% to EUR 39.06, inching dangerously close to its 52-week low of EUR 38.90 — a level investors are treating as a neuralgic threshold. A separate session saw a 1.8% decline to EUR 39.19, bringing the year-to-date loss to 35%. Sentiment continues to be weighed down by the persistent difficulties in China.
Two October Dates Hold the Key
Direction from here hinges on specific technical and fundamental markers. As long as the EUR 38.90 floor holds on a closing-price basis, a technical stabilization remains possible. A sustained break below it, however, would risk a slide to a fresh yearly low and could trigger additional technical selling pressure.
The bear case rests on the danger of a permanent structural shift in China. Should the sales slump there persist or accelerate in the fourth quarter, the targeted return base would come under threat. A drawn-out price war and local competition could force the Stuttgart manufacturer into concessions on selling prices. Rising energy costs and geopolitical tensions, meanwhile, threaten to dampen demand in Europe and North America — and if the global auto sector cools further, volume losses in Asia cannot be offset by other core regions.
Clarity arrives in stages. A pre-close call for analysts and investors runs today from 17:30 to 18:00 CEST. The decisive fundamental checkpoint follows on October 28, 2026, when Mercedes-Benz Group publishes its full third-quarter interim report and walks through the figures on an analyst conference call. Only those numbers will reveal how heavily margin pressure has actually weighed on operating profit.
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