Daimler AG, owner of the Mercedes-Benz brand, warned that a fall in demand for diesel cars and a switch to electric vehicles could force it to prop up its supplier base. Carmakers face increased legal and regulatory scrutiny over pollution levels produced by their diesel-engined vehicles after Volkswagen in 2015 admitted to cheating emission tests using engine management software.
To avoid a total ban on their diesel vehicles, Daimler and other carmakers have stepped up development of electric cars and agreed to update their engine management software to cut down pollution levels.
Daimler’s suppliers are being forced to invest to help electrify the entire Mercedes-Benz range by 2022, prompting the carmaker to use unusually frank language to warn about the impact of the shift to electrified cars in its report.
Daimler created a risk management committee to oversee its suppliers in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, when some smaller companies ran into cash-flow problems, forcing Daimler to step in. Daimler said earlier this month that its profit growth would be dampened this year by spending on new technologies such as electric and autonomous vehicles. In its annual report, Daimler also said that political crises and uncertainties could lead to supply bottlenecks for specific raw materials, leading to volatile prices.
Daimler’s report showed that provisions stood at 14 billion euros (USD17.3 billion) at the end of 2017, 2.1 billion higher than a year earlier.
