(Reuters) -Volkswagen’s truck unit Traton guided for a tepid commercial vehicle market in 2025 on Monday after persistent weakness in Europe, particularly in Germany, weighed on last year’s results.
«We expect the global economy to lose some momentum in 2025,» Traton said in a statement, adding that it would continue to focus on efficiency measures this year.
The truck maker forecast 2025 sales development in a range of -5% to +5% and an operating return on sales of between 7.5% and 8.5%. The outlook is subject to geopolitical developments, particularly in the United States, it said.
The Scania owner’s shares were up 1.3% in early Frankfurt trade.
European truck makers’ shares have risen significantly this year on hopes of higher order books ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, decisions to move more production to the Unites States and an improving European outlook.
Sweden’s Volvo in January reported strong order intake for the fourth quarter of 2024, and some analysts said this might be a sign of brightening outlook for the European truck market.
Traton’s adjusted operating return on sales, its main profitability metric, rose to 9.2% in 2024, exceeding both the 2023 figure and its forecast, although that was mainly thanks to efficiency measures while vehicle sales fell.
Annual sales and adjusted operating result were stable at 47.47 billion euros ($51.47 billion) and 4.38 billion euros, respectively.
Sales of electric vehicles (EV) dropped by 17% to 1,739 units sold in 2024, reducing EVs’ share in overall sales from 0.6% to 0.5%. However, incoming EV orders jumped by 60% to about 4,000 trucks and vans, Traton said.
Waning EV sales increase the risk of Traton not meeting carbon emission reduction targets, it added.
European truck makers struggled through last year amid falling sales, after pent-up demand following the pandemic drove them to record highs in 2023.
Traton’s results come as its parent Volkswagen undergoes a major restructuring with thousands of job cuts in Germany due to shrinking European demand, rising competition from China and uncertainties around the EV transition.
($1 = 0.9223 euros)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi)
