Daimler AG

The stable outlook indicates that we expect favorable customer demand and continued cost discipline will enable Mercedes to implement its accelerated transition to EVs while maintaining an adjusted EBITDA margin of well above 10% and adjusted FOCF to sales of at least 4%, in addition to no adjusted debt. We could raise the ratings if Mercedes continues to strengthen its competitive position by enhancing its EV product line-up and supply chain, and by making faster progress in developing cutting-edge digital vehicle technology. We would expect this to translate into durable market shares for the core brand in the EV segment in Europe, China, and the U.S. that are at least equal to the current passenger car market share. Raising the

... hampered Mercedes' car production in 2021 and will remain a constraint in 2022. Following the pandemic-related trough in second-quarter of 2020, Mercedes' car production steadily recovered toward the end of 2020 and in the first half of 2021, with the last 12 months moving production volume as of second-quarter 2021 reaching about 94% of the level observed before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 (see chart 1). Third-quarter 2021 production was about 35% lower than in the third quarter of 2019, mainly because of ongoing supply shortages for automotive semiconductors. Given that vehicle inventory is already very low, we...

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