Mercedes-Benz on Thursday announced further cost-cutting and more petrol and diesel cars than EVs in its new product range, in a bid to revive margins as the company braces for a sharp drop in earnings in 2025.

The luxury-car maker aims to slash production costs by 10% over the next couple of years, including shifting some manufacturing from Germany to lower-cost countries.

After the first VAN.EA models debut in 2026, they will be joined by internal combustion equivalents based on the mechanically similar VAN.CA platform

Mercedes-Benz on Thursday launched a fresh cost-cutting plan to revive sales and margins and battle stiff competition as the German carmaker forecast a big drop in earnings in 2025. Its car division reported a 40% slump in 2024 earnings as sales in the key Chinese and German markets took a battering.

Mercedes-Benz has warned that its profits will be “significantly” lower this year as the German carmaker battles a steep drop in demand. The warning came as the Stuttgart-based company reported that net profits fell 28 per cent to €10.