EDWARD LAPHAM

Iraq: Does Daimler know something that we don't?

Edward Lapham
Automotive News Europe
May 9, 2008 06:01 CET

You have to wonder about Daimler's decision to open an office in Baghdad by year end.

Haven't the top Daimler execs in Stuttgart been watching CNN? Don't they realize that Iraqi militia leaders -- especially those backed by Iran, such as Moktada al-Sadr -- make the ruthless killer Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men seem like a choirboy by comparison? They must not have been to the movies, either.

Even if you believe there eventually will be a booming market in Iraq, why go now?

There can be only one answer: The Daimler brass have access to different intelligence from the Arab street than we do.

Don't forget that Daimler has a regional office in Dubai. For years, many Middle Eastern leaders enjoyed a taste for Mercedes-Benz automobiles. The automaker sold more than 16,000 passenger vehicles in the region last year. Sales of Mercedes-Benz trucks in the Middle East were up 44.3 percent to 6,000 vehicles.

And the Kuwaiti government is the company's biggest shareholder, with about 7.2 percent of Daimler stock. That's a bigger chunk of Daimler than the piece of Ford controlled by Kirk Kerkorian … so far. Although once upon a time, Kerkorian was a big shareholder in DaimlerChrysler, too.

Now that the decision has been made, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the company's first emphasis will be on selling trucks. Iraq's various commercial enterprises will need trucks -- lots of trucks -- on the road to peace and normalcy. That's handy because Daimler is the world's largest manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

Given the news that keeps flowing out of Iraq, the Daimler team must believe the outlook for peace there is promising.

I hope it's right.

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