DaimlerChrysler to exit Iran

[NYCshopper]

DaimlerChrysler to exit Iran

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/12/news...reut/index.htm

The No. 5 auto maker will divest it's Mercedes distributor, reacting to pressure to not to do business in Iran, a magazine reports.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- DaimlerChrysler intends to divest its majority stake in the company that is its exclusive distributor for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Iran, Germany's WirtschaftsWoche magazine reported on its Web site.

"The group is reacting to the growing pressure that the United States is applying on companies that do business in Iran," the magazine said Monday, without giving a source for its information.

It said DaimlerChrysler would sell its 51 percent stake in marketing group Setareh in the next few weeks.

DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth-biggest car maker thanks to the 1998 merger of Germany's Daimler-Benz with U.S. automaker Chrysler, declined comment.

Washington has been stepping up pressure on Iran, which it accuses of harboring ambitions to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear energy program is for peaceful purposes.

Shares of DaimlerChrysler (down $0.31 to $63.78, Charts) fell less than 1 percent in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of rival automakers GM (down $0.13 to $35.88, Charts), Ford (down $0.05 to $8.68, Charts), and Toyota (down $0.09 to $131.97, Charts) were little changed.

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[blubaru703]

Good.

[CryderSpeed]

Looks like they'll have to look elsewhere for the luxury carbomb segment of the market.

[BigElm]

Run.............