DaimlerChrysler won't blur brands or sell cheap car

Reuters / December 13, 2006 - 10:00 am | STUTTGART -- DaimlerChrysler will not let itself blur the sharp distinctions between its brands and will not enter the market for low-priced cars, its head of corporate development said today.

DaimlerChrysler's auto brands include Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Smart and Maybach.

"We will not use a vehicle platform for several brands" despite pressure to cut costs and boost productivity, Ruediger Grube told a labor union event in Stuttgart.

"A Mercedes will remain a Mercedes and may not share a platform with anyone," he said, for fear its sales and margins would suffer should buyers think they could get basically the same car for less money if sold under a sister brand.

The company, formed by the 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, must instead seek cost savings from sharing parts such as water pumps that customers will never see or by pooling resources for purchasing or operating data processing systems, he said.

At an earlier industry conference in Frankfurt, he said the group would not venture into offering cheap cars, which analysts say is likely to be the fastest-growing market segment.

"We will leave this to the others," he said.