Mercedes-Benz Stock Holds Near Lows as Legal Victory, U.S. Gains, and CIO Departure Paint Mixed Picture

Shares languish near 52-week low as China slump offsets double-digit North America growth and a London court victory cuts diesel provision risk.

A London court win and double-digit sales growth in North America have done little to rouse the Mercedes-Benz share price from its year-long slumber. The stock closed Friday at €43.95, barely changed on the session, and remains within 3% of its 52-week low of €42.64 — a level hit in late June. The gap to December’s annual peak of €62.30 now stands at almost 30%, while year-to-date losses have widened to 28.71%.

The muted reaction to the High Court of England and Wales’ diesel ruling underscores how deeply scepticism has set in. In a 369-page judgment, the court threw out the majority of allegations in a collective action brought on behalf of roughly 1.6 million vehicle owners across several manufacturers, including Mercedes-Benz. Although the judge found that certain technologies could be potentially impermissible, the rejection of most claims significantly reduces the group’s provision risk. The stock’s after-hours response was a mere 0.02% dip, and a further hearing to determine possible damages is scheduled for October.

Regional sales data released alongside the legal news sent a similarly contrasting signal. Global deliveries in the second quarter fell 6% to 511,900 units, with the passenger-car division down 8% to 417,800. Yet Western markets showed genuine resilience: North America jumped 13% and Europe added 4%. Those gains were completely overwhelmed by the persistent slump in China, which remains the single biggest drag on the group’s top line. The full second-quarter financials, due on 31 July, will reveal whether margin pressure from the world’s largest auto market has eroded the benefits of the U.S. and European uptick.

The cost-cutting programme that Mercedes-Benz is pursuing to fund its technology investments has meanwhile stirred tension on the factory floor. Isolated protests have broken out as the workforce pushes back against austerity. Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, a well-known industry analyst, argues that German carmakers must structurally lower production costs to stay competitive with their ascendant Asian rivals. That sector-wide belt-tightening, combined with the continued discounting by Volkswagen and the political back-and-forth over climate targets, is keeping the entire European automotive space under a cloud.

Adding a human-resources dimension, the company confirmed that chief information officer Katrin Lehmann will leave in September 2026. She took the role in early 2024 and oversaw the roll-out of Microsoft Copilot to roughly 90,000 employees and the legacy system replacement project known as “Project Bertha.” Her departure comes just months after Mercedes folded IT into a combined “People & Enterprise Tech” unit under board member Britta Seeger. The group has not yet named a successor.

A less visible but potentially costly operational risk is building at the other end of the technology spectrum. Mobile network operators plan to phase out 2G connectivity by 2028, a move that threatens the eCall emergency-call system still running on that standard in many current models. The TÜV association has warned that a non-functional eCall could be classified as a major defect during the mandatory roadworthiness test, potentially invalidating the vehicle’s operating licence. The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) is calling for a longer transitional period, arguing that retrofitting is either technically impossible or economically unreasonable for most cars.

On the charts, the shares appear stretched but not yet ready to bounce decisively. The 14-day relative strength index sits at 38.4, approaching oversold territory below 30, and the 30-day volatility reading of 29.25% is elevated for the sector. Still, the stock trades 19.5% below its 200-day moving average of €54.57 and 8.35% below the 50-day average of €47.96, leaving plenty of technical damage to repair. If the €43 support level fails to hold, some analysts warn of a slide toward the €20 area — a scenario that others dismiss as overly bearish, arguing that the current consolidation is actually a base-building phase. The absence of any sustained recovery after the legal and sales catalysts suggests that the burden of proof now rests firmly on bulls.