Daimler’s headquarters in Germany. DTNA won 52,293 orders in Q4, up 6% from 49,557 orders in the year-ago period. (Daimler Truck North America)
March 12, 2026 3:15 PM, EDT
Key Takeaways:
- Daimler Truck said Q1 order growth, especially for Freightliner Cascadia, strengthened its confidence in a 2026 rebound in North American heavy‑duty truck sales.
- Executives said improving heavy‑duty orders follow a 2025 sales slump, with DTNA Q4 sales down 27.5% and revenue falling 29% amid weaker demand.
- The company expects higher 2026 sales across Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses, with improved volume and efficiency gains offsetting rising tariff impacts.
Daimler Truck is now confident about a rebound in North American heavy-duty truck sales in 2026 after the first couple of months of the year unfolded and the volume of data points increased.
Top executives at the parent company of Daimler Truck North America said during an earnings call that first-quarter order levels are building on initial fourth-quarter 2025 green shoots, particularly for Freightliner’s flagship Cascadia Class 8 tractor, so much so that production levels may be increased.
Executives at the Germany-headquartered truck and bus maker are able to be more confident than their peers at Paccar and Volvo Group because of how much later in the first quarter Daimler holds its earnings call.
The more positive tone came after Freightliner and Western Star truck sales slumped in the fourth quarter of 2025.
“We have seen an uptick in order intake starting at the end of last year and also continuing into this year. I would say we are cautiously positive because even though it’s a big improvement from a couple of months ago, if you look at our historical average, it’s still below that average. So let’s monitor how it looks in the next couple of weeks. But it looks for the moment like a quite good trend,” the company’s top executive, CEO Karin Radstrom, told analysts on the March 12 call.
DTNA won 52,293 orders in Q4, up 6% from 49,557 orders in the year-ago period.
“In quarter four, we had a bit more medium-duty orders and now in the first months of Q1, we saw more heavy-duty orders, so Freightliner Cascadia orders came in, which has obviously been a good sign also for our production program and for our margin dynamics as the year progresses,” Chief Financial Officer Eva Scherer said.
DTNA Q4 Sales Slump
However, DTNA sold 34,017 trucks and buses in the most recent quarter, down 27.5% compared with 46,906 in the year-ago period.
Portland, Ore.-based DTNA sold 141,814 vehicles in 2025, a decrease of 25.7% compared with 190,727 trucks and buses in 2024.
Daimler Truck said Freightliner and Western Star attained a 38.4% North American Class 8 market share in Q4, down 0.7 percentage point from 39.1% a year earlier. Overall in 2025, the brands’ slice of the pie was 39.6%, compared with 39.8% in 2024.
Freightliner and Western Star’s combined U.S. Class 8 retail sales market share in 2025 was 40.8%, unchanged from 2024, according to Omdia Automotive data.
The parent company anticipates industrywide Class 8 truck demand in North America to range between 250,000 and 290,000 vehicles, compared with 258,000 trucks in 2025. Daimler Truck includes the U.S., Canada and Mexico in its estimations.
But DTNA’s share of the Class 6-7 truck market fell to 30% from 32.7% in Q4 and to 30.6% in 2025 from 34.1% in 2024.
Daimler Q4 2025 Earnings Report
Daimler Truck expects a rebound in medium-duty market share in 2026. Scherer said the 2025 decrease was due to DTNA not being willing to cut prices. The market is healthier as Q1 ends, particularly with dealer restocking, and Daimler Truck expects Freightliner to capitalize on that, she said.
Overall in 2026, Daimler Truck expects Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses to sell between 150,000 and 170,000 vehicles.
Revenue at DTNA fell 29% year over year in the most recent quarter to $4.88 billion from $6.9 billion in the year-ago period due to the decline in truck sales. The division’s adjusted earnings before interest and taxation slumped 58% to $353.8 million from $849.4 million.
The parent company said DTNA reported “strong overall profitability” despite tariff headwinds and the weak demand landscape.
Daimler Truck Q4 Profit Falls 42%
Daimler Truck reported an overall profit of $538.1 million in Q4, down 42% compared with $925.3 million in the year-ago period. The company posted a profit of $2.34 billion in 2025, a 34% decrease compared with $3.53 billion in 2024. Daimler Truck reports earnings in euros, and all conversions were correct as of March 12.
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Daimler Truck sold 117,974 trucks and buses in the final three months of 2025, a decrease of 5.2% compared with 124,386 commercial vehicles in the year-ago period.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks sales underpinned the most recent quarter at 48,841 vehicles, an increase of 11.5% from 43,806 in the year-ago period.
The company’s orders in Q4 totaled 140,143 vehicles, up 13% compared with 124,046 trucks and buses in the same period 12 months earlier.
Daimler Truck sold 422,510 trucks and buses globally in 2025, 8% below 460,409 in 2024.
The company’s 2025 orders came in at 425,458 trucks and buses, 2% higher than 2024’s 417,131 vehicles.
Revenue in 2026 at the company’s truck and bus manufacturing divisions, known as its Industrial Business, is expected to be between $48.38 billion and $52.99 billion, compared with $48.5 billion in 2025.
Daimler Truck said it expects improved results in 2026 as a result of higher sales volume and efficiency gains that will compensate for an increase in the impact of tariffs.
