With only a 19,9 per cent stake in Chrysler after selling most of its stake to Cerberus Capital Management in August this year, DaimlerChrysler AG has recently held a milestone meeting in which the company name has been changed to Daimler AG. To fit in with this process, DaimlerChrysler South Africa has renamed the local company to Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
The 2008 Jeep Cherokee was recently launched in New York and will arrive in SA during the second quarter of next year. Will the much-more-macho newcomer build on the popularity of its predecessor?
Private equity firm Cerberus looks set to take an 80% share in the Chrysler Group in a move that should free up Daimler and, hopefully, put Chrysler back on track.
Interested in the finer operation of BMWs or keen to hit the open road in a 24-wheeler from DaimlerChrysler? The local divisions of the German manufacturers have recently announced respective apprenticeship and professional driver learnership programmes.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, which is claimed to roar from zero to 100 km/h in a Porsche Cayenne Turbo-trumping 5,0 seconds, was recently launched in SA. But Porsche has a foil to the 309 kW American gunslinger in the form of its 383 kW Turbo S – just one step down in the food chain from the mighty Carrera GT.
Mercedes-Benz is introducing the 5,5-litre V8 from the S-Class to its E, CLS and CLK ranges in South Africa and the eagerly-awaited 63 AMG engine (with outputs ranging from 354 to 378 kW) will be made available in the E, CLS, CLK and ML lineups.
The most powerful and fastest Jeep model, the Grand Cherokee SRT-8, will soon be launched in SA. Powered by a 309 kW 6,1-litre Hemi V8, the performance SUV is said to roar from zero to 100 km/h in a Cayenne Turbo-trumping 5 secs!
The DCSA plant in East London has invested R2 billion to prepare for the production of the W204-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class compact saloon. Set to be unveiled at next year’s Geneva Show and reach showrooms in the middle of ’07, the new C will be much sportier than the W203. Check out these spy pics.
DaimlerChrysler SA last year recorded its best results yet, though the MIDP’s uncertain future remains a key concern for the local manufacturer.
DaimlerChrysler and other motor manufacturers have threatened to withdraw their local operations if the MIDP does not remain in place until its 2012 deadline.