VW's Traton warns of lower than expected quarterly operating profit after 10% sales drop

By Amir Orusov

(Reuters) -Traton reported a 10% drop in first-quarter deliveries and said the quarter's operating will fall short of market expectations, Volkswagen's trucks business said on Wednesday.

The company said it sold 73,100 trucks and buses in the first quarter, compared with 81,100 a year earlier, citing a challenging market environment.

Preliminary operating profit for the first three months of 2025 is expected to be 645 million euros ($712.14 million), it said. That compared with an 877 million euro consensus from analyst forecasts compiled by the company, though its full-year outlook remains unchanged.

"The U.S. market is continuing to suffer from low transportation activity," a Traton statement said, adding that market uncertainties caused by tariffs had a negative effect on first-quarter deliveries.

JP Morgan has said that it expected weaker U.S. order intake for truckmakers to persist in the second quarter, regardless of the outcome of the tariff negotiations.

The broker also expected lower order intake to persist because the third quarter tends to mark the seasonal summer shutdown.

"This lower overall activity would likely mean heavy truck demand in (North America) moving from 2025 into 2026," JP Morgan added.

Rival Daimler Truck on Tuesday that its North American sales fell 16%.

($1 = 0.9057 euros)

(Reporting by Amir OrusovAdditional reporting by Paolo LaudaniEditing by Miranda Murray and David Goodman)