MAY 4, 2004

Hubbert stays on

In a surprise announcement DaimlerChrysler has revealed that Dr Wolfgang Bernhard will not be taking over from Jurgen Hubbert as head of Mercedes-Benz as had been planned. The decision came after a meeting of the DaimlerChrysler supervisory board in New York and is a big surprise as Bernhard had been nominated to succeed Hubbert at the end of February. The decision comes in the wake of a vote by board members to block a move by chairman Jurgen Schrempp to bail out Mitsubishi Motors. Schrempp was defeated by remains in control and has the backing of the supervisory board although the announcement yesterday that DaimlerChrysler is to stop its relationship with Hyundai is a further blow to the embattled chief. Bernhard has been replaced as chief operating officer of Chrysler.

Bernhard may find himself out of favour at the moment but with Schrempp looking ever more under pressure it could be that he will be back in the spotlight when the current power struggle ends.