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Daimler AG Daimler AG Type Public (FWB: DAI, NYSE: DAI) Founded 2007 (originally 1883) Headquarters Stuttgart, Germany Area served Worldwide Key people Dieter Zetsche (CEO & Chairman of the management board), Manfred Bischoff (Chairman of the supervisory board) Industry Automobile and truck manufacture Products List of brands Revenue €95.87 billion (2008)[1] Operating income ▲ €2.370 billion (2008)[1] Profit ▲ €1.414 billion (2008)[1] Total assets €132.2 billion (2008)[1] Employees 273,200 (2008)[1] Website Daimler.com Daimler AG (ISIN: DE0007100000) (formerly Daimler-Benz AG, Daimler- Chrysler AG) is a German car corporation (not to be confused with the British Daimler Motor Company) and the world’s thirteenth largest car manufacturer as well as the largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufac- tures trucks and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm. The company also owns major stakes in aerospace group EADS, high-technology and parent company of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing team McLaren Group, and Japanese truck maker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. DaimlerChrysler was founded in 1998 when Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler- Benz (1926-1998) of Stuttgart, Germany merged with the US-based Chrysler Corpora- tion. The deal created a new entity, Daimler- Chrysler. However, the buyout failed to produce the trans-Atlantic automotive power- house dealmakers had hoped for, and DaimlerChrysler announced on May 14, 2007 that it would sell Chrysler to Cerberus Capit- al Management of New York, a private equity firm that specializes in restructuring troubled companies.[2] On October 4, 2007 a Daimler- Chrysler Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meet- ing approved the renaming of the company. From October 5, 2007, the company has been titled Daimler AG.[3] The US company adop- ted the name Chrysler LLC when the sale completed on August 3, 2007. Daimler produces cars and trucks under the brands of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Smart, Freightliner and many others. History Daimler AG is a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and engines, which dates back more than a century. An Agreement of Mutual Interest was signed on May 1, 1924 between Benz & Cie (founded 1883) of Karl Benz and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (founded 1890) of Got- tlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Both companies continued to manufacture their separate automobile and internal com- bustion engine brands until, on June 28, 1926, when Benz & Cie. and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft AG formally merged—becoming Daimler-Benz AG—and agreed that thereafter, all of the factories would use the brand name of Mercedes-Benz on their automobiles. In 1998 Daimler-Benz AG "merged" with the American automobile manufacturer Chrysler Corporation, and formed Daimler- Chrysler AG. In 2007, when the Chrysler group was sold off to Cerberus Capital Man- agement, the name of the parent company was changed to simply Daimler AG. Timeline of Daimler AG Benz & Company, 1883–1926 Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft AG, 1890–1926 Daimler-Benz AG, 1926–1998 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Daimler AG 1 DaimlerChrysler AG, 1998–2007 Daimler AG, 2007–present Former Chrysler operations Chrysler has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, culminating in Daimler- Chrysler’s agreement to sell the unit to Cer- berus Capital Management in May 2007 for US$6 billion. Through most of its history, Chrysler has been the third largest of the "Big 3" US auto makers, but in January 2007, DaimlerChrysler, excluding its luxury Mer- cedes and Maybach lines, also outsold tradi- tionally second place Ford, though behind General Motors and Toyota. Chrysler reported losses of US$1.5 billion in 2006. It then announced plans to lay off 13,000 employees in mid-February 2007, close a major assembly plant and reduce pro- duction at other plants in order to restore profitability by 2008.[4] The merger was contentious with in- vestors launching lawsuits over whether the transaction was the ’merger of equals’ that senior management claimed or actually amounted to a Daimler-Benz takeover of Chrysler. A class action investor lawsuit was settled in August 2003 for US$300 million while a suit by billionaire investor activist Kirk Kerkorian was dismissed on April 7, 2005.[5] The transaction claimed the job of its architect, Chairman Jürgen E. Schrempp, who resigned at the end of 2005 in response to the fall of the company’s share price fol- lowing the transaction. The merger was also the subject of a book Taken for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off With Chrysler, (2000) by Bill Vlasic and Bradley A. Stertz.[6] Another issue of contention is whether the merger delivered promised synergies and successfully integrated the two businesses. As late as 2002, DaimlerChrysler appeared to run two independent product lines. Later that year, the company launched products that appear to integrate elements from both sides of the company, including the Chrysler Cross- fire, which used extensive Mercedes parts and the Dodge Sprinter/Freightliner Sprinter, a re-badged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. Sale of Chrysler DaimlerChrysler had reportedly approached other carmakers and investment groups to sell Chrysler in early 2007. General Motors was reported to be a suitor while Volkswa- gen, the Renault-Nissan auto alliance, and Hyundai Motor Company had said that they weren’t interested in buying the company. On August 3, 2007, DaimlerChrysler com- pleted the sale of Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management. The original agreement stated that Cerberus would take an 80.1 per- cent stake in the new company, Chrysler Holding LLC. DaimlerChrysler changed its name to Daimler AG and retained the remain- ing 19.9% stake in the separated Chrysler.[7] The terms saw Daimler pay Cerberus US$650 million to take Chrysler and associ- ated liabilities off its hands. This is a remark- able reverse in fortunes on the US$36 billion paid to acquire Chrysler in 1998. Of the US$7.4 billion purchase price, Cerberus Cap- ital Management will invest US$5 billion in Chrysler Holdings and US$1.05 billion in Chrysler’s financial unit. The de-merged Daimler AG received US$1.35 billion directly from Cerberus but directly invested US$2 bil- lion in Chrysler itself. Management Dr. Dieter Zetsche has been the Chairman of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars since January 1, 2006 as well as member of Board of Management since 1998. He was former President and CEO of the Chrysler, LLC (previously owned by Daimler AG), he maybe best known in the United States as Dr. Z from a Chrysler advertising campaign called "Ask Dr. Z". Current members of the Board of Manage- ment of Daimler AG are: • Dr. Dieter Zetsche: Chairman of the Board as well as Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. • Gunther Fleig: Head of Human Resources and Labor Relations. • Dr. Rudiger Grube: Head of Corporate Development. • Andreas Renschler: Head of Daimler Trucks. • Bodo Uebber: Head of Finance and Controlling as well as Financial Services. • Dr. Thomas Weber: Head of Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. Current members of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG are: Heinrich Flegel, Juergen Hambrecht, Thomas Klebe, Erich Klemm, Arnaud Lagardère, Jürgen Langer, Helmut From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Daimler AG 2 Lense, Sari Baldauf, William Owens, Ansgar Osseforth, Valter Sanches, Manfred Sch- neider, Stefan Schwaab, Bernhard Walter, Lynton Wilson, Mark Wössner, Manfred Bis- choff, Clemens Börsig and Uwe Werner. Dr Manfred Bischoff serves as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG and Erich Klemm as Vice-Chairman. [8] Shareholders Structure by Ownership [9] • Aabar Investments (United Arab Emirates): 9.1% • Kuwait Investment Authority (Kuwait): 6.9% • Institutional investors: 58.4% • Private Investors: 22.1% • Treasury Shares: 3.5% by Region [9] • 47.4% Germany • 23.8% Other Europe • 12.2% United States • 9.1% United Arab Emirates • 6.9% Kuwait • 0.6% Others Brands Daimler sells automobiles under the follow- ing marques worldwide: • Mercedes-Benz Cars • Maybach • Mercedes-Benz • Smart • Mercedes-AMG • Daimler Trucks • Commercial vehicles • Freightliner • Mercedes-Benz (truck group) • Mitsubishi Fuso • Thomas Built Buses • Sterling Trucks • Western Star • Components • Detroit Diesel • Mercedes-Benz • Mitsubishi Fuso • Daimler Buses • Mercedes-Benz buses • Orion Bus Industries • Setra • Mercedes-Benz Vans • Mercedes-Benz (vans group) • Daimler Financial Services • Mercedes-Benz Bank • Mercedes-Benz Financial • Daimler Truck Financial Holdings Daimler currently holds interests in the fol- lowing companies: • 85.0% Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation of Japan • 50.1% Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation of Canada • 40.0% McLaren Group of United Kingdom • 22.4% European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) - a parent company of Airbus of Europe • 22.3% Tognum of Germany • 10.0% KAMAZ of Russian Federation • 10.0% Tesla Motors of California • 7.0% Tata Motors of India [10] Partners Tesla Motors and Daimler had already been working together. Daimler was planning to build 1,000 all-electric versions of its small Smartcar using Tesla’s battery techno- logy.[11] Alternative propulsion Biofuel research Daimler AG is involved in a joint project with Archer Daniels Midland Company and Bayer CropScience to develop jatropha as a bio- fuel.[12] Transport electrification Carmaker Daimler AG and utility RWE AG are going to beging a joint electric car and charging station test project in the German capital, Berlin, called "E-Mobility Ber- lin.".[13][14] Mercedes-Benz is launching its first pas- senger car model equipped with a hybrid drive system in summer 2009, the Mercedes- Benz S 400 BlueHYBRID.[14] Daimler Trucks is the world market leader in hybrid systems. With its “Shaping Future Transportation” initiative, Daimler is pursu- ing a clear-cut objective for trucks and buses. The Mitsubishi Fuso “Aero Star Eco Hybrid” is now setting new standards in practical tri- als in Japan.[15] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Daimler AG 3 See also • Mercedes-Benz India • Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft • DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno, 547 U.S. ___ (2006), a U.S. Supreme Court case involving tax incentives granted to DaimlerChrysler to expand its Toledo, Ohio facilities • Fisker Automotive • SCO v. DaimlerChrysler • United States Council for Automotive Research References [1] ^ "Annual Report 2008" (PDF). Daimler. http://www.daimler.com/Projects/c2c/ channel/documents/ 1677323_DAI_2008_Annual_Report.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-03-06. [2] Daimler AG (14 May 2007). Cerberus Takes Over Majority Interest in Chrysler Group and Related Financial Services Business for EUR 5.5 Billion ($7.4 billion) from DaimlerChrysler. Press release. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/ 0-5-7145-1-858191-1-0-0-0-0-0-11979-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-06. [3] Daimler AG (4 October 2007). Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of DaimlerChrysler Approves Renaming as Daimler AG. Press release. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/ 0-5-7145-1-962758-1-0-0-0-0-0-8-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html. Retrieved on 2007-11-06. [4] "Chrysler Announces Major Downsizing - Daily Auto Insider". CarAndDriver.com. 15 February 2007. http://www.caranddriver.com/ dailyautoinsider/12499/chrysler- announces-major-downsizing.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-15. [5] "DaimlerChrysler settles investor lawsuit". CarAndDriver.com. 25 August 2003. http://www.caranddriver.com/ article.asp?section_id=30&article_id=7060. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. [6] "Taken for a Ride". BusinessWeek. 5 June 2000. http://www.businessweek.com/ 2000/00_23/b3684147.htm. Retrieved on 2007-11-06. [7] Daimler - Home - Cerberus Takes Over Majority Interest in Chrysler Group and Related Financial Services Business for EUR 5.5 Billion ($7.4 billion) from DaimlerChrysler [8] Daimler - Home - Konzernprofil - Corporate Governance - Organe - Aufsichtsrat [9] ^ "Daimler Investor Relations". http://www.daimler.com/ir. Retrieved on 30 November 2008. [10]Daimler ziet brood in samernwerking met Jaguar en Land Rover De Morgen of 05-05-2008 [11]Greentech Media | Electric Vehicles Get a $30M Charge [12] "Archer Daniels Midland Company, Bayer CropScience and Daimler to Cooperate in Jatropha Biodiesel Project". DaimlerChrysler. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/ 0-5-7153-1-1035042-1-0-0-0-0-0-8-7145-0-0-0-0-0-0-1. [13] [1] [14]^ "Newsroom | Daimler > Sustainability". Daimler. http://www.daimler.com/dccom/ 0-5-876574-1-886072-1-0-0-0-0-0-8-876574-0-0-0-0-0- Retrieved on 2009-05-01. [15] [2] External links • Official Daimler site • Sustainability. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimler_AG" Categories: Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Companies of Germany, German brands, Motor vehicle manufacturers of Germany, Bus manufacturers, Car manufacturers, Daimler AG This page was last modified on 19 May 2009, at 22:34 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) tax- deductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Daimler AG 4
