Mercedes 1999 Annual Report Download - page 10

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CHAIRMEN’S LETTER
4Top Team Talks: The joint chairmen address senior management.
We also sold debitel, our mobile telephone subsidiary, and
the gain from that amounted to €1.1 billion (US $1.1 billion)
– from an initial investment of a mere €9 million nine
years ago.
This restructuring of our non-automotive business has
enabled us to free up capital for attractive new investments
and this process will be continued.
And while Adtranz, our rail systems subsidiary, experienced
difficulties in 1999, it retained its global leadership in the
rail systems market and we introduced a major program for
its recovery, which we expect will return it to profitability
in 2000.
Moreover, through alliances, there are excellent opportun-
ities for us to grow our investments in both Temic and MTU.
Fourthly, and most importantly, we put in place a number
of core strategies that are already charting our course for
future growth. Simply stated, they come down to this:
delivering value added for our shareholders through brand
leadership in our markets.
THE FUTURE OF OUR BUSINESS
– AND THE BUSINESS OF OUR FUTURE
The automotive business is no longer just about moving
metal. It’s about moving customers – in both senses of the
word. Today’s customers assume quality and reliability as
given. What they demand now are styling, power, status,
lifestyle and personalized service. They want their dream
car, or truck. They want it tailored to their needs and tastes.
They expect us to deliver that, and they expect us to
surprise them, and delight them.
New consumer demands and dramatic advances in
automotive technology (a field where DaimlerChrysler
always leads the pack) mean that the way we design and
make vehicles will change faster and more radically in the
next ten years than it did in the past 50.
C H A I R M E N ’ S L E T T E R