Continental says North America mild car output down over ‘financial uncertainty’

BERLIN (Reuters) -Continental AG expects manufacturing of sunshine autos in North America to fall by round 7% within the first quarter, the German auto provider mentioned on Tuesday, citing “financial uncertainty” forward of looming tariffs on the sector.

Within the group’s automotive division, the adjusted margin on earnings earlier than curiosity and tax is anticipated to interrupt even within the first three months of the 12 months, the group mentioned in a abstract of a daily name with analysts and traders forward of quarterly outcomes.

“The present tariff scenario and the event of latest product launches are creating excessive ranges of uncertainty, impacting strategic planning and market predictions,” Continental mentioned.

The feedback come forward of earlier introduced U.S. import tariffs on vehicles that come into pressure on April 3, with broader duties anticipated to be introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Continental, which is scheduled to launch first-quarter outcomes on Might 6, mentioned that first-quarter mild car manufacturing in China was anticipated to extend by a mid-to-high single digit share, higher than beforehand anticipated.

Within the automotive phase, Continental’s largest division by income, the group expects optimistic contributions from price cuts within the January-March interval.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Christoph SteitzEditing by Tomasz Janowski)