Auburn Hills, Mich. -- DaimlerChrysler AG's chief financial officer suggested yesterday that the German automaker might jettison its American partner as it tries to cut losses racked up by the Chrysler Group.
"We don't exclude anything here," Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber said during a conference call on DaimlerChrysler's third-quarter results, which were marred by a $1.48 billion loss at Chrysler.
Pressed about the possibility of spinning off Chrysler or pairing it with another automaker, Uebber told reporters and analysts that the company was analyzing the situation and would draw its conclusions afterward.
"We need to safeguard sustainable profitability for the Chrysler Group and for DaimlerChrysler," Uebber said.
His comments triggered a rally in DaimlerChrysler shares.
"It's no longer a clear denial" that Chrysler might be dumped, said Juergen Pieper, an auto analyst and co-head of research at Metzler Bank in Frankfurt, Germany.
DaimlerChrysler's U.S. shares rose 4.5 percent to $54.68 on the New York Stock Exchange, even though a company spokesman said Uebber's remarks had been misconstrued.
Later, chief spokesman Hartmut Schick issued a statement saying "there are no plans to sell Chrysler Group."
But investors thought they detected a shift in the management's thinking, as Uebber refused to rule out anything during repeated questioning about Chrysler.
In the past, the company has flatly denied any possibility of dropping Chrysler, even though it shed its stakes in Asian automakers.
"DaimlerChrysler's management know they're under pressure," Pieper said. The stock is one of the weakest performers among European automakers.
With Deutsche Bank AG no longer serving as a bulwark against predators, DaimlerChrysler might be vulnerable to bidders attracted by a resurgent Mercedes.
"A takeover wouldn't be impossible," Pieper said. "There's no family, no big investor." He doesn't believe, however, that DaimlerChrysler will get rid of its Auburn Hills division.
DaimlerChrysler chief executive Dieter Zetsche, who also heads the Mercedes Car Group, was previously CEO of Chrysler and obtained the top job partly on the basis of the recovery he achieved at Chrysler.
Chrysler recently disclosed that a team of managers, including top Mercedes executives, were examining every aspect of the business to come up with ways to cut costs by $1,000 per vehicle and improve efficiency.
