DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai break up partnership
AFP, Frankfurt
DaimlerChrysler and its South Korean partner Hyundai Motor terminated their troubled partnership Wednesday amid differences over strategic objectives, especially in the emerging Chinese market. The breakup was triggered by "significant changes" in the global auto market which have forced the two companies to re-prioritize "respective strategic objectives," a joint statement said. The US-German auto group has agreed to sell its entire 10.5 percent stake in Hyundai, the statement said. DaimlerChrysler acquired the stake in 2000 for 400 million dollars after forging a strategic alliance with Hyundai. The stake is now worth an estimated one billion dollars. "To better address these conditions, the companies determined it was mutually beneficial to realign the alliance in order to reflect more realistically current market conditions," the statement said.
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