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Daimler rebuffs Geely offer to buy stake

HONG KONG/BEIJING - Daimler AG has turned down an offer from China's Geely to take a stake of up to 5 percent via a discounted share placement, as the German automaker has long been reluctant to see existing shareholdings diluted, sources with knowledge of the talks said. A stake of that size would be worth $4.5 billion at current market prices. Although Daimler declined the offer, it told Geely it was welcome to buy shares in the open market, the sources added. Carmakers in China have embarked on a flurry of dealmaking, as they scramble to boost production of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles ahead of tough new quotas to be imposed by Beijing, which wants to reduce urban smog and lower the country's reliance on oil. People with knowledge of Geely's thinking said the company was keen to access Daimler's electric car battery technology and wanted to establish an electric car joint venture in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. Geely, which also owns Swedish car maker Volvo, is still hopeful it can secure a deal in some form over the coming weeks, they added. The two automakers met in Beijing in recent weeks at Geely's behest. There, the Chinese firm, formally known as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, offered to take a stake of between 3 percent and 5 percent if Daimler would issue new shares at a discount, the sources said. It was not immediately clear what kind of discount for the shares Geely had in mind or whether Geely was interested in buying the shares on the open market. A spokesman for Geely declined to comment. A spokesman for Daimler said the company was "very happy with our shareholder structure at present", but added that it would welcome new investors with a long-term interest in the company. Shares in Daimler were up 1 percent in early Wednesday trade, in line with the broader market.DAIMLER ALREADY TIED TO BAIC, BYD Geely, which has a market value of some $32 billion, is the leading domestic brand in China with a 5 percent market share, according to an analysis by Nomura Securities. A stake of 5 percent would establish it as Daimler's third-largest shareholder behind the Kuwait Investment Authority and BlackRock, who hold 6.8 percent and 6 percent respectively, according to Reuters data.

Daimler cutting Mercedes and Smart prices by 18% in Switzerland

Automakers including Daimler and PSA are now offering substantial discounts in Switzerland to make it more affordable for Swiss customers to buy their cars, according to the latest from Bloomberg. The move, instituted by two of Europe's largest automakers, comes in response to the surprise decision last week by the Swiss National Bank to suddenly abandon its longstanding policy of capping trading of the Swiss Franc to 1.20 francs per euro. The policy has sent the value of the franc soaring, making imports into Switzerland less expensive while increasing the value of its exports. The discounts being offered by the automakers could therefore be viewed more as price adjustments to better match the changing currency value rather than an actual incentive. But whichever way you look at it, a new Mercedes or Smart will now cost Swiss buyers 18 percent less than the list price, while Peugeot and Citroen dealers in the Confoederatio Helvetica are chopping 1,000 francs ($1,144) off the price of a new passenger car or 1,500 francs ($1,716) for a new commercial vehicle. Conversely, high-end Swiss watchmakers like Rolex and Patek Philippe are looking at increasing their prices to keep up with the currency fluctuation, particularly in Japan, where the yen has dropped 17 percent against the franc in the past few days. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Sandro Campardo/Keystone/AP Mercedes-Benz smart Car Buying Citroen Peugeot switzerland

Mercedes widens luxury sales gap on strong early CLA demand

Mercedes-Benz CLA sales have been booming, with the Stuttgart-based manufacturer moving 2,300 of the sleek four-doors in its first week on sale. That is astonishing. Mercedes moved nearly twice as many CLAs (which start at $29,900) in one week than Jaguar, a brand that is on a very solid roll, sold in all of September. Ignoring the price differences between the Jag line and the CLA, that is still wildly impressive.
Mercedes has been pushing the CLA in television ads, using a shortened version of its Super Bowl spot, which starred William Dafoe, Usher and Kate Upton. "As the bargain entrance into the Mercedes portfolio, we weren't sure how luxury buyers would react," Kelly Blue Book auto analyst Alec Gutierrez told Bloomberg.
The CLA push was just part of MB's 6.7-percent increase in September sales, which were also helped along by a 17-percent jump in E-Class sales. That surge has allowed Mercedes to widen its 2013 sales lead over its rival, BMW, to 2,491 cars, according to Bloomberg. If CLA sales continue at this rate, we can only expect that margin to grow.