Mercedes-Benz FY2025: Profits Squeezed, But Maybach and G-Class Still Carry the Star
By InnoGazette Editorial Team | February 23, 2026
Mercedes-Benz just wrapped up 2025 with a financial story that looks nothing like “record profits” but it also doesn t look like collapse. Earnings are down sharply, electric vehicle (EV) sales momentum has cooled, and headwinds from tariffs and China weighed heavily on the bottom line. Yet, in the middle of that storm, the ultra-luxury end of the portfolio Maybach and the G?Class, bundled into Mercedes “Top-End Vehicles” category continues to quietly carry an outsized share of the brand s valuation and narrative.
Think of 2025 as a stress test: EV growth slowed, volume fell, and the macro environment turned hostile. The reason Mercedes can still talk confidently about cash generation, dividends, and a path to higher earnings in 2026 is simple its richest customers never left.
2025 in One Line: Profit Down, Cash Still Strong
Start with the hard numbers from Mercedes-Benz Group s FY2025 results, released February 11, 2026.
- Revenue: about 132 billion, down from roughly 146 billion in 2024.
- Adjusted EBIT (Group): around 8 billion, effectively halved versus 2024 s ~ 13 14 billion.
- Net profit: down nearly 50%, reflecting a year “rocked by tariffs and China woes,” as one headline put it.
Management describes 2025 as a “solid cash generation” year in difficult conditions, not a record-breaker. Free cash flow from industrial business remained positive, and Mercedes still returned money to shareholders just not at the heights seen during the post-pandemic luxury boom.
What Went Wrong: Tariffs, China, and EV Whiplash
Three main forces dragged 2025 earnings lower:
- Tariff and regulatory costs: Additional costs from trade tensions especially U.S. and Chinese measures hit Mercedes global footprint.
- China slowdown and pricing pressure: Demand became more volatile and discount-heavy in 2025 as Chinese EV brands intensified competition.
- EV demand reality check: Globally, the EV market cooled. Mercedes own battery-electric car volumes slipped rather than soared, with overall car sales falling roughly 9% to around 1.8 million units.
EVs: From Charge Ahead to “Slow Lane”
Mercedes didn t abandon EVs in 2025 but the numbers show a clear pause in the push. Battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales for Mercedes-Benz Cars fell around 9% year-over-year. Total EV share (BEV + plug-in hybrid) stayed above 20% of cars sold, but that was increasingly thanks to PHEVs, not pure electric growth.
For 2025, that meant the profit engine was not the EQ lineup. It was the traditional money makers S?Class, Maybach, G?Class, and AMG sitting at the top of the pyramid.
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Top-End Vehicles: 15% of Sales, Much More of the Profit
Mercedes formally groups its highest-end products under “Top-End Vehicles”: S?Class, EQS, Mercedes-Maybach, AMG GT, and the iconic G?Class. Highlights from FY2025:
- Top-End vehicles represented around 15% of Mercedes-Benz Cars unit sales.
- The G?Class achieved its strongest sales to date, with waitlists still stretching in key markets.
- Maybach variants of the S?Class and GLS command enormous price premiums, especially in China.
In plain language: Maybach and G?Class don t “carry the entire brand,” but they absolutely keep the premium story and valuation from cracking when the mass market and EV side wobble.
How G?Class Became Mercedes Margin Tank
The G?Class is more than a boxy SUV with a cult following it s a financial instrument on wheels. The new electric G-Class (G 580 with EQ Technology) is now fully launched and contributing to the mix, giving Mercedes a halo EV that doesn’t rely on incentives to move metal.
So when EV sedans or compact crossovers stumble, the G?Class acts like a shock absorber. It doesn t solve everything but it keeps Mercedes firmly positioned as a desirable luxury brand.
Strategy Check: “Fewer Cars, More Money” Meets a Tough Cycle
FY2025 shows both the strengths and the limits of Mercedes’ strategy. Strengths: When volume drops ~9%, the brand doesn t immediately spiral into heavy discounting. Limits: If macro headwinds cut EBIT nearly in half, even a rich mix can t keep profits at prior peaks.
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The Bottom Line: No Record, But a Revealing Year
So how should you really summarize Mercedes-Benz FY2025? Not as a record earnings peak. Profit was way down roughly half of 2024 s level. But as a demonstration that the company s Top-End strategy works: when volume and EV growth disappoint, Maybach and G?Class help keep the lights bright.
Because if there s one clear lesson from 2025, it s this: the three-pointed star still shines brightest where the price tags are highest.
