Daimler Q1 North America Sales Hit Lowest Since 2010
Daimler Truck says North American Q1 sales fell to 29,432 trucks, the company's lowest first-quarter level since 2010, even as orders jumped 86% year over year.
Demand Slumps, Orders Rebound
Daimler Truck is trying to protect profitability after what executives described as a historically weak North American demand environment. The truck maker sold 29,432 trucks in North America in the first quarter of 2026, the company's lowest Q1 level since 2010, according to CFO Eva Scherer.
The weak quarter followed a rough 2025, when Daimler sold 141,814 trucks in North America, down 26% from the prior year. The company also pointed to tariff pressure and the long freight recession as headwinds for heavy-duty demand.
Three Levers for Cash Flow
Management outlined three near-term levers: reducing Daimler's ownership in the merged Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino Motors business to 25%, expanding the Cellcentric fuel-cell joint venture with Toyota, and delaying some EV manufacturing capacity tied to the Amplify Cell Technologies venture.
The EV manufacturing delay brings a 200 million euro charge, but executives said it should still help cash flow because the company had expected to spend a low triple-digit million euro amount on the project in 2026.
Why Fleets Should Watch
For fleets, the issue is not just Daimler's margin. A weaker truck market can affect build slots, incentives, used-equipment values, and the timing of replacement cycles. The company did point to one encouraging signal: Q1 orders rose 86% year over year.
CEO Karin Radstrom said replacement demand is still building after a long freight recession, but higher freight rates will take time to show up in healthier fleet economics. That makes the next few quarters important for fleets deciding whether to replace aging tractors now or wait for a cleaner demand signal.
