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Carmakers feeling crunch, says Zetsche
Tom Armitage
Automotive News
October 2, 2008 - 7:38 am ET
PARIS -- The credit crisis is having an impact on the real economy and carmakers are not immune from the slowdown, said Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche.
"The industry is going through troubled waters," Zetsche said. "Obviously the real economy is affected and that includes the auto industry. So we cannot be totally immune."
Zetsche declined to comment on specific figures ahead of the released of Mercedes Benz's latest results. He noted however that the industry as a whole had seen significant declines in global markets.
Asked about Russia, Zetsche said that it is an important, growing market for Mercedes-Benz.
"There have been some setbacks (such as the stock-market crash)," said Zetsche. "But we are confident that it will recover fast."
Zetsche presented Mercedes Benz's new Fascination concept at the Paris auto show. The car is said to 'strongly resemble' the next-generation E-Class sedan and station wagon.
Mercedes-Benz's city-car division Smart presented a new ED model. ED stands for Electric Drive. The ED Smart has a range of 150km. Production starts in 2009 with first deliveries to cities such as Paris.
The German automaker also showed its S400 BlueHybrid sedan. The sedan has emissions of 190g/km and generates 299hp from its combined gasoline-electric engine.
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