Morning Briefing: Rekord beim Dax, Krise bei den Autobauern

Good morning readers, the DAX index broke through the 26,000-point mark on Monday for the first time, setting a new record – yet Germany's largest industry watches it all unfold. BMW, Mercedes, and VW are among the biggest losers of the stock market year so far. Data published by Handelsblatt today reveals profound upheavals: the profit margins of BMW and Mercedes in the passenger car core business have fallen below the level of mass manufacturers.

Analyst Matthias Schmidt summarizes the situation: the root cause lies in the collapse of China business – and German premium manufacturers have hardly anything to counteract. The internal combustion engine business, on which they mainly bet in China, is collapsing, electric vehicles play no role. Added to that are US tariffs for which no deal is in sight, and rising material costs due to the Iran war.

The growing electric vehicle market in Europe hardly helps either. This mix erodes profits. The pressure to find a solution grows. In China, for instance, manufacturers must tailor their offering more closely to the market. But behind this lies a dilemma: locally suitable models and a lower cost base could dilute the premium brands.