DaimlerChrysler Chief Says Chrysler is For Sale

VOA News
April 4, 2007

DaimlerChrysler's chief executive officer has told shareholders he is negotiating the sale of the German-American company's troubled Chrysler unit.

Dieter Zetsche's comments in Berlin Wednesday, are the first official confirmation that Chrysler is for sale.

The automaker lost $1.5 billion last year. It saw its market share fall by 3 percent to less than 13 percent in the key U.S. market.

Zetsche did not say who is interested in buying the company.

Daimler bought Chrysler in 1998 for $36 billion - far more than most experts say the company is worth today.

U.S. automakers are losing money and market share as they continue to build huge, fuel-thirsty vehicles while gasoline prices soar.

Some information for this report was provided by Bloomberg, AP and Reuters.