Daimler Spending Splurge to Gain Steam in Automotive Overhaul
- Investment to rise further after 24% surge in first quarter
- Mercedes maker raises forecast to ‘significant’ earnings gains
Daimler's Zetsche on China Sales, Electric Cars & Brexit
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Daimler AG plans to ratchet up development spending throughout the year as the inventor of the automobile scrambles to keep pace with a disruptive shift to electric, self-driving vehicles.
Research-and-development expenses jumped 24 percent to 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in the first quarter and will continue to rise in the course of 2017, the Stuttgart, Germany-based company said Wednesday. The faster pace implies the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars will invest more than the targeted 8.1 billion euros this year and comes after the company last month accelerated the introduction of at least 10 new battery-powered models by three years to 2022.