Daimler to Fall Short in China

DaimlerChrysler, the world’s fifth-biggest carmaker, expects sales in China to fall about 15% short of its goal for 2004 after a slowdown in the world’s fourth-largest auto market.

Daimler has sold 36,442 vehicles in the first 10 months of the year, surpassing its sales of 33,000 to 34,000 for all of 2003.

The U.S.-German giant now expects to sell 50,000 units in China this year, versus a target of about 59,000 announced in September, said Rudiger Grube, a member of the carmaker’s board and chairman of its China executive board.

“We have some concerns, no doubt about it,” Grube said. “The reason for the slowdown is the measures from the government, because what they would like to avoid is an overheated market.”

DaimlerChrysler shares rose 2 cents to $45.62 on the New York Stock Exchange.