Strong market position as a global premium automotive manufacturer, notably Mercedes-Benz Cars. Leading market position in trucks. Good spread of operations. Investments ongoing to modernize and extend product range. Ongoing industry cost pressures. Cyclical demand for cars, vehicles, and trucks. Risk of volatile profitability during downturns. Our expectation of continued very strong leverage metrics, due to positive free operating cash flow, low adjusted debt and "strong" liquidity in the automotive operations. Supportive financial policy framework, focused on organic growth, with moderate dividend payments. Capital expenditure (capex) needed to develop and extend range of vehicles. Debt adjustments for pensions. Sizeable debt related to the captive finance operations. The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Daimler will maintain strong credit ratios over
