German automaker DaimlerChrysler seems to be stuck in reverse and one remedy that's been rumored to be the solution is the spin off or sale of its U.S. division. Daimler will be taking a harder look at those options after it reported Wednesday, Nov. 1 its auto sales dropped 1.6% in October to 180,184 versus 183,163 in the same year-ago period. Contributing to that drop is American unit Chrysler Group, which saw its sales fall 3.25% to 159,586. But maybe
chief executive officer, Carlos Ghosn of
Renault-Nissan, who has expressed some soft interest in Chrysler, could assimilate the former Lee
Iacocca-led company and make it the missing American piece of his auto empire. If this was the case, Ghosn would have to deal with Chrysler's
rising health-care costs, which add up to $600 a vehicle in North America. That's almost three times as much as Toyota's cost. He also may need to close some U.S. plants to offset a $1.5 billion loss in the third quarter. These are issues that seem insurmountable right now, but Ghosn or any interested party will be looking at them — Gerald Magpily
See Associated Press article via Houston Chronicle
See Bloomberg article
See Business Week article via MSNBC
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