DaimlerChrysler Credit Rating Raised based on North American Chrysler Division Profits

S&P Rates DaimlerChrysler Higher than GM for Debt Risk

How quickly the tables turn in the auto industry. Less than a year ago DaimlerChrysler AG board members were calling for

From the doghouse to the talk of the town, DaimlerChrysler Chairman Jürgen Schrempp is looking like an automotive hero lately. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

Chairman Jürgen Schrempp's head on a platter for his ambitious expansion plans into the U.S. and Asia, all of which were costing the world's fifth largest automaker money and eroding Mercedes-Benz profits.

Now Schrempp looks like a hero, as the sale of the automaker's Hyundai stock has netted DCX hundreds of millions in a mere four years, and Chrysler Group is pulling in profits due to its popular new models, the 300 series sedan, Pacifica crossover SUV and new PT Cruiser Convertible, Dodge Durango and recently introduced Magnum, among others, while Mercedes-Benz that is losing money.

It was Standard & Poor's (S&P) Rating Services that cited Chrysler Group as the impetus behind DCX's rising credit fortunes on

Standard & Poor's (S&P) Rating Services has upgraded Chrysler Group's credit rating from negative to stable. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

Wednesday of this week, upgrading the automaker from negative to stable.

Where do the other two domestic automakers stand? Ford Motor Co. is tied with DaimlerChrysler and stronger than General Motors Corp., or at least S&P thinks its future offers more stability being that its most recent ratings on the two firms are stable for Ford and negative for GM. That, of course, means S&P thinks DaimlerChrysler is currently less of a risk than GM.

S&P analyst Maria Bissinger stated that DaimlerChrysler is on target to surpass its 2003 performance "based primarily on Chrysler's return to being a positive contributor to earnings."