Auto Knight

Daimler Loses $1.9 Billion

by Darren

Add Daimler to the list of auto companies who are down in sales and profit. Daimler said it lost $1.9 billion in the final quarter of 2008. They lost substantial amounts of money due to lower sales volume of their flagship Mercedes-Benz line, as well as a huge chunk of cash on their stake in Chrysler.

Total unit sales in the quarter were down 17% at 480,055, including a 22% decline for Mercedes Benz cars, where U.S. and Japanese sales suffered the most.

Daimler has been affected by the same factors as their rivals. A worldwide credit crisis has caused a bottoming out of auto sales as consumers are unable to acquire the bank loans necessary for most of them to buy cars.

As a result of the losses, Daimler announced a 70% reduction in their dividend to .60 Euros per share.

The company also forecast a deep drop in sales for 2009.