Daimler Recall - 840,000 Vehicles In U.S. Due To Potentially Defective Takata Airbag

STUTTGART, Germany, Feb. 9, 2016 -- The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has notified Daimler AG that it has been informed that certain airbag models from the manufacturer Takata, which are also installed in Mercedes-Benz cars and Daimler vans, are potentially defective. On the basis of available information on the components, Daimler AG has decided to recall approximately 705,000 Mercedes-Benz cars and about 136,000 Daimler vans in the United States. The expense for this precautionary recall is estimated at a total of about €340 million.

The estimated costs will be recognized as a provision in financial year 2015. Therefore net profit will decrease to €8.7 billion (2014: €7.3 billion) and Group EBIT to €13.2 billion (2014: €10.8 billion). EBIT from ongoing business remains unchanged at €13.8 billion (2014: €10.1 billion). Daimler AG points out that both the dividend proposal and the employees' profit participation for the successful year 2015 as well as the earnings expected for financial year 2016 remain unchanged. At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting on April 6, 2016, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose the distribution of a dividend of €3.25 per share (2014: €2.45). Daimler AG continues to assume that it will slightly increase Group EBIT from the ongoing business in 2016.