In its interim report, the carmaker reported that net profit doubled to €2.83bn for Q2 from €1.48bn a year earlier.

Company EBIT rose to €5.24bn, up from €2.27bn for Q2 2012. This included a one-off gain totalling €3.2bn relating to proceeds of the sale of the remaining shares in planemaker EADS.

Revenues were up 2.8% to €29.69bn.

‘As we previously announced, our earnings in the second quarter improved significantly compared with the first three months of the year and exceeded market expectations. This represents progress in our earnings development, but no cause for complacency. We will continue to work hard on achieving our goals,’ stated CEO Dr Dieter Zetsche.

‘We presented the new S-Class in May, which met with an excellent response, and our compact-car offensive is also continuing very successfully. The completely upgraded range of Mercedes-Benz trucks in Europe, the first to be fully available with Euro VI emission technology, has also been very well received by the customers.’

The group added its outlook that worldwide demand for cars still seems likely to expand by between 2 and 4% this year. Growth will primarily be driven by the continuation of robust increases in demand in the United States and by the ongoing significant expansion of the Chinese market. Falling demand for cars meanwhile seems to have bottomed out in Western Europe, and a gradual improvement of the market situation is to be anticipated in the second half of the year.

From today’s perspective, global demand for medium and heavy-duty trucks is expected to grow slightly in 2013. However, this depends quite crucially on the development of the world’s biggest market, China, where a significant recovery recently started which should continue in the coming months.

Commenting on the company’s H2 forecast, Dr Zetsche said: ‘As a result of our new products, the increasing impact of the efficiency programs running in all business units and the further development of the markets that are especially important for us, we can assume that our earnings in the second half of 2013 will be significantly better than in the first six months of the year.’