Daimler and Volkswagen have posted falls in their first-quarter profits due to a continuing slump European car sales.
Daimler warned that profits this year will be lower than last year's, after a 60% fall in earnings to 564 million euros ($US733 million) for the three months.
Volkswagen saw profits fall 38% to 1.95 billion euros in the January-March period.
Sales in Europe for all carmakers dropped 9.8% in March, for the 18th consecutive month. The BBC reports there is little sign of a turnaround.
Daimler's sales rose just 4% to 206,150 cars and revenue fell 3% to 26.1 billion euros ($US34 billion).
Daimler said in Stuttgart on Wednesday that it expected markets in the United States and China to grow, but warned that European car sales would fall further this year.
