DaimlerChrysler to Invest $40 Billion in North America despite Cutbacks by GM and Ford

Chrysler Group to Get Majority of $40 billion DaimlerChrysler Investment

With General Motors and Ford Motor Company talking of closing plants and laying off employees, DaimlerChrysler's announcement on

Chairman Juergen Schrempp announced that DaimlerChrysler will invest $40 billion USD of its annual $190 billion USD global revenues into its North American operations. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

Monday by DaimlerChrysler Chairman Juergen Schrempp that it will invest $40 billion USD of its annual $190 billion USD global revenues, a number which incidentally puts the automaker on par with General Motors' worldwide revenues, into its North American operations, which makes up $100 billion USD of the automaker's total revenues, comes as a sharp contrast.

"At a time when the domestic auto industry has struggled in the face of fierce global competition, we've been building momentum," commented Chrysler Group President and CEO Dieter Zetsche during his address to symposium attendees prior to lunch on Tuesday. "We're most proud of the fact that our recent improvements in sales, market share and profits have been driven by our new products. We're investing much of those returns right back into America to ensure our

"We're most proud of the fact that our recent improvements in sales, market share and profits have been driven by our new products," commented Chrysler Group President and CEO Dieter Zetsche. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

competitiveness well into the future."

The announcement was made during the automaker's "Impact on America" Innovation Symposium held in Washington, DC, at the Washington Convention Center in the heart of the U.S. capital city.

The symposium displayed a clear representation of DaimlerChrysler's vast product lineup, from tiny consumer vehicles to massive commercial highway trucks and busses, and made a point of helping attendees to understand the impact its operations have on the lives of North Americans in general, being that the world's largest automotive employer is also one of the largest employers in North America with more than 100,000 workers - three times the number employed by Toyota.