Mercedes-Benz Faces a Two-Front October: Factory Cost Battle at Home, Product Offensive Abroad
Published on 10/07/2026 at 08:21 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Mercedes-Benz is heading into the final stretch of 2026 with its share price pinned near a 52-week low and its management pressing a hard bargain on the domestic manufacturing front. The stock closed Tuesday at EUR 40.54, a level just 2.9% above its yearly trough, and has shed 33% since the start of January.
At a works meeting on 28 September, the board reiterated its demand that employees work 38 hours a week instead of the current 35 — without additional pay. According to media reports, management warned that two German plants would have to be shuttered if labour costs cannot be brought down. The closure scenario underscores how tense negotiations with worker representatives have become as the Stuttgart carmaker tries to keep its German sites competitive internationally.
The squeeze extends beyond the factory floor. Under plans reported by Handelsblatt, internal home-office rules are set to tighten, with managers gaining the authority to require full-time staff to be present in the office on as many as four days a week.
Buyback Keeps Running
While those internal battles play out, the company is pressing ahead with its capital-market programme. In its fifth interim report on the current buyback, published on 5 October, Mercedes-Benz disclosed the repurchase of 875,000 of its own shares between 28 September and 2 October, at a transaction volume of EUR 35,637,298.00. Since the programme began on 1 September 2026, the group has bought back a total of 3,851,805 shares — a move designed to tighten the supply of freely traded stock and a central plank of its capital allocation ahead of the upcoming earnings release.
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A Product Push From Belgium to Paris
On the marketing side, Mercedes-Benz is using the start of the fourth quarter to spotlight its higher-margin model lines. The Zoute Grand Prix in Belgium opens on Wednesday and runs through 11 October, with the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and the electric Mercedes-Benz VLE all making their first public appearances before a Belgian audience. A global campaign for the new four-door AMG coupé, fronted by actor Brad Pitt as brand ambassador, kicked off on Monday.
Belgium is only the opening act. From 12 to 18 October the manufacturer will exhibit at the Paris Motor Show, where further show premieres are scheduled, including versions of the GLA and GLE as well as the AMG CLA 45. The presentations are flanked by tie-ups beyond vehicle manufacturing: a limited edition of the adidas Samba OG x Mercedes-Benz sneaker becomes orderable from 13 October.
Steer-by-Wire Arrives in Series Production
Technology is part of the same push. As of Tuesday, the all-electric EQS sedan can be ordered with a steer-by-wire steering system. Mercedes-Benz describes itself as the first German manufacturer to bring this purely electronic steering technology to the road in a series-production passenger car. In Germany the system is priced at EUR 2,500 excluding VAT, or EUR 2,975 including tax.
China Looms Over the Quarter
Analysts, meanwhile, are focused squarely on Asian sales markets. Tim Rokossa of Deutsche Bank Research cut his price target to EUR 70 from EUR 73 on 29 September, while keeping his "Buy" rating. He called China the biggest structural challenge facing the entire industry.
Investors will get a detailed read on the group's operating condition in a few weeks. On 28 October 2026, Mercedes-Benz Group AG publishes its interim report for the third quarter of 2026, accompanied by a conference for analysts and investors. Whether the product offensive and the buyback can steady market confidence will depend heavily on progress in the plant-cost talks — and on the numbers due that day.
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