Mercedes-Benz cut its full-year profit margin target for the second time in less than two months, hitting European auto stocks as it joined a growing number of rivals that are blaming a weakening Chinese car market,

Chief executive Ola Källenius told analysts on Friday that the company’s issues stemmed “mainly [from] China” but added that in other markets, such as Europe, Mercedes-Benz was also still feeling “the [impact] of higher interest rates”.

By Shubham Batra (Reuters) -European shares slipped on Friday after a rally in the previous session spurred by the U.S. Federal Reserve's outsized interest rate cut, while shares of Mercedes were set for their worst day in 15 months after the automaker cut its core profit outlook.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG Chief Executive Officer Ola Källenius pledged he’ll do whatever it takes to bolster returns after the luxury-car maker warned on profit over sluggish sales in China.

The German carmaker’s shares started Friday with an almost 7% drop as the company significantly cut its expected results for the full year because of weakness in Chinese demand for its vehicles. View

Mercedes-Benz on Thursday cut its full-year profit margin for the second time in less than two months, after overall sales volume fell in China. The ongoing weakness of the Chinese market for luxury cars prompted the Stuttgart carmaker to trim its outlook after having already done so as recently as July.