Daimler Scraps Mercedes Target Again Underscoring BMW’s Lead

Daimler AG scrapped a Mercedes-Benz earnings target for the second time, highlighting the luxury-car brand’s widening gap to leader Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.

Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche gave up on boosting Mercedes profit margin to at least 10 percent of sales next year, a level that Volkswagen AG’s Audi beat in the third quarter. The earliest Mercedes will achieve the target now is 2014, four years later than originally planned.