DaimlerChrysler and its ambitions to become a global leader suffered another humiliating blow on Wednesday, when the German-US auto giant announced it was ending its fraught alliance with South Korean car maker Hyundai.
Coming only three weeks after DaimlerChrysler pulled the plug on any further financing for its loss-making Japanese partner Mitsubishi Motors, the car maker said its alliance with Hyundai had also ended in tears and the two partners were going their separate ways.
Hyundai is to take over DaimlerChrysler's 50-percent stake in Daimler Hyundai Truck Corporation and the two sides have agreed to terminate other licensing and commercial arrangements, such as the talks for a comprehensive truck joint venture in South Korea.
DaimlerChrysler tried to downplay the unravelling of its tie-up with Hyundai, which effectively said goodbye to its ambitions to become a global player with a leading market position in all regions, especially the all-important growth market of Asia.
"Since commencement of the strategic alliance in September 2000, there have been significant changes in the global commercial vehicle and automotive markets, which have resulted in a re-prioritisation of both companies' respective strategic objectives," it said in a statement.
"To better address these conditions, the companies determined it was mutually beneficial to realign the alliance in order to reflect more realistically current market conditions."
But coming so soon after the Mitsubishi Motors debacle, the failure of its alliance with Hyundai has left DaimlerChrysler rather bloodied and bruised in its fight to remain one of the world's top car makers. The two key Asian alliances still appear to exist on paper.
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