DaimlerChrysler chief defiant despite alliance failure
The chief executive of DaimlerChrysler, one of the world's biggest carmakers, has no intention of stepping down, despite the failure of an alliance with Mitsubishi Motors.
DaimlerChrysler announced yesterday it is to put the brakes on all further financing for Mitsubishi Motors, saying it would not pump any more cash into the loss-making Japanese firm.
DaimlerChrysler, which currently holds a 37% stake IN Mitsubishi Motors, said that its management and supervisory boards had decided not to take part in an injection of fresh capital because it would not get a satisfactory return on its share.
The collapse of the alliance with Mitsubishi buries the ambitions of DaimlerChrysler's chairman Juergen Schrempp to transform his group into a global player with leading position in all major markets.
Just two weeks ago at DaimlerChrysler's annual meeting in Berlin, Schrempp braved scathing criticism from shareholders to defend his aggressive international expansion strategy, especially in Asia where the group set up alliances with Hyundai in South Korea and Mitsubishi Motors in Japan.
But sources said he nevertheless had no intention of stepping down.
DaimlerChrysler was formed in 1998, from the merger of German industrial giant Daimler-Benz with US car maker Chrysler.
