German-U.S. auto giant DaimlerChrysler AG has long-term plans to take a majority stake in partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp., according to Juergen Schrempp, chief executive officer at DaimlerChrysler, in an interview made available Sunday.
"So far, we own a 37.3 percent stake and we can take the majority in 2003 at the earliest. But first, Mitsubishi has to be profitable again and has to reduce its debt," Schrempp told German magazine Der Spiegel in an interview published in its latest edition, which hits newsstands Monday.
"This (taking over the majority in Mitsubishi) is obviously our long-term goal," Schrempp was quoted as saying. DaimlerChrysler took a 34 percent stake in MMC in 2000 as part of its alliance with MMC in the car business.
In 2001, it raised its stake to 37.3 percent and expanded the alliance to include the bus and truck business.