Traton revenue rises 3% to €33.3 billion in first nine months
Key Facts
Traton reported results for the first nine months of 2026 on October 28, with revenue up 3% year on year to €33.3 billion. The adjusted operating return on sales improved to 6.9%, compared with 6.3% in the same period of 2025, an increase of 0.6 percentage points. Orders received rose 25% to 253,100 vehicles, while unit sales totaled 230,400 vehicles. The figures show margin improvement alongside revenue growth, while orders received exceeded vehicles sold during the period. The company said strong orders helped it enter the fourth quarter with good momentum.
Traton attributed the improvement in adjusted operating result mainly to higher contributions from the group’s vehicle services and financial services businesses, as well as favorable volume, pricing and product mix effects. These factors were partly offset by higher tariff and raw material costs, the company said. This puts gains from volume, pricing and product mix on one side, and cost pressures on the other, in the development of the result. The positive contributions cited by the company were not limited to vehicle sales, as they also included vehicle services and financial services. The available excerpt did not specify the separate value of any of these contributions or the impact of tariffs and raw materials.
On demand, North American truck orders rose 105% in the first nine months of the year. Traton said demand for heavy-duty Class 8 trucks improved markedly in the region. This development came as total orders received by the group rose to 253,100 vehicles, up 25% from the year-earlier period. In the third quarter alone, group sales rose 10% year on year to 78,900 vehicles, with the company saying stronger demand in the United States was the main driver of the increase. Total unit sales for the first nine months also reached 230,400 vehicles, up 3% from the same period a year earlier.
Performance varied among the group’s brands in the first nine months. MAN sales rose 5% from the same period a year earlier, while International sales increased 3%. By contrast, Volkswagen Truck & Bus sales fell 1%. At group level, total sales rose 3% to 230,400 vehicles, reflecting differing sales trends among the brands. These figures provide a more detailed picture than overall sales growth, with two brands posting gains and the third declining.
For battery electric vehicles, sales rose 30% in the first nine months, while orders received for them increased 50%. Chief Executive Christian Levin said the group’s business momentum accelerated clearly in the third quarter. The trend combines growth in current electric vehicle sales with a larger increase in orders received, according to the company’s figures. First-half results also showed revenue of €21.996 billion and an adjusted operating result of €1.539 billion. Adjusted operating return on sales in the first half was 7.0%, compared with 6.3% in the first half of 2025.
Management reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, keeping its ranges for unit sales and revenue growth at 0% to 7% and forecasting group adjusted operating return on sales of 6.3% to 7.3%. The chief financial officer said the company expects positive momentum to continue in the fourth quarter, with strong orders from previous quarters beginning to convert into unit sales. He added that the U.S. market is poised to gain further momentum toward year-end. On its investor calendar, Traton set October 28 as the date for publishing its nine-month statement and also listed a post-third-quarter results tour with Jefferies from October 28 to 30. VWAGY shares closed at $7.58 on October 27, according to EL7 data.