...January 21, 2021 - Germany-headquartered global car and truck maker Daimler AG has met its EU emission targets for 2020 thanks to increased battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (xEV) sales in second-half 2020, and reported fourth-quarter retail sales for Mercedes-Benz cars at the same levels as last year. - We believe Daimler will increasingly benefit from stabilizing demand, cost efficiency measures, and favorable shifts in its product mix, and have thus raised our forecast for Daimler's cumulative adjusted free operating cash flow (FOCF) in 2021¡2022 by about 3 billion. - We are therefore revising our outlook on Daimler to stable from negative and are affirming our '###+/A-2' long- and short-term ratings on the company and its debt. - The stable outlook indicates that we expect Daimler will report adjusted EBITDA margins of more than 8% and FOCF to sales of at least 2% during the next two years as car and truck markets recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. FRANKFURT (S&P Global Ratings)...
