Mercedes-Benz Offers Digital Steering on the EQS as Buyback Nears Five Million Shares
Published on 10/12/2026 at 19:01 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Mercedes-Benz has begun selling its Steer-by-Wire system for the EQS limousine worldwide, attaching a German price tag of EUR 2,975 including VAT for the digital steering setup that severs the mechanical link to the front axle. The rollout lands as the Stuttgart manufacturer keeps grinding through a share repurchase program that has now absorbed close to five million of its own shares.
Under the buyback launched on 1 September, the company picked up 910,000 shares on the open market between 5 and 9 October — its sixth interim disclosure — lifting the cumulative total to 4,761,805. An earlier tranche of 875,000 shares, acquired between late September and early October, had pushed the running tally to 3,851,805 at that stage.
The steady bid for its own stock has done little to steady the share price. The equity was down 1.0 percent at EUR 39.34, hovering just above the 52-week low of EUR 38.90 touched the previous Thursday. Before the opening bell the DAX-listed stock had changed hands at EUR 40.10, only 3.1 percent clear of that yearly trough.
A Soft Quarter in the Showroom
Behind the muted trading lies a patchy third quarter. Group deliveries of passenger cars and vans came to 491,700 units worldwide between July and September, a decline of 6 percent from a year earlier. Press reports pointed to a marked drop in demand for passenger cars in China, a market the group can ill afford to lose.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Mercedes-Benz?
Battery-electric vehicles told the opposite story. Mercedes-Benz Cars shipped 68,400 BEVs in the quarter, a record for the division and a jump of 61 percent. Demand for fully electric variants of the GLC, CLA, GLB and GLA has outrun supply in Europe, with order books for those models stretching into 2027.
Analysts Trim Targets Ahead of the Print
Ahead of the quarterly report, sell-side opinion on the European auto sector has turned cautious. Jefferies cut its price target on Mercedes-Benz to EUR 46 from EUR 52 while keeping a "Buy" rating, with analyst Philippe Houchois citing likely weak results across European manufacturers and the prospect of further provisions at the Stuttgart group.
UBS's Patrick Hummel lowered his target to EUR 45 from EUR 50 on Friday and stuck with a "Neutral" stance, pointing to mounting pressure from Chinese rivals in the group's sales markets. HSBC trimmed its own target that same day, moving to EUR 61 from EUR 63 while retaining a "Buy" rating.
Investors will get hard numbers on margins and the scale of any charges in roughly two weeks. Mercedes-Benz Group AG publishes its full interim report for the third quarter of 2026 on 28 October, accompanied by an analyst conference.
Ad
Mercedes-Benz Stock: New Analysis - 12 October
Fresh Mercedes-Benz information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
