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Regarding Item 4 of the Agenda:
»The actions of the members of the Supervisory Board are not to be ratified.
Reason:
Zetsche is responsible for the Chrysler disaster.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche succeeded in direct competition against his competitor Eckhard Cordes, the Supervisory Board elected him as successor to Board of
Management Chairman Jürgen E. Schrempp. The decisive point in his favor was his apparent success with the turnaround of the ailing Chrysler division,
with which Schrempp had attempted to justify his vision of the 'global corporation'.
The mass dismissals and plant closures on the American continent instigated by Zetsche and approved by the Supervisory Board were unable to end the dramatic
sales slump and self-destructive discount battles. The entire Chrysler disaster is also clear in the field of accounting: Since the turn of the millennium,
which is when Zetsche took office as Chrysler CEO, total profits of only 4.0 billion euros have been made. On the other hand, losses in the years 2001, 2003
and 2006 add up to 6.9 billion euros. In the coming years, additional losses of billions are a threat, the Chrysler disaster is turning into a bottomless pit.
Dieter Zetsche is to be made mainly responsible for the US disaster. As Chrysler CEO, he was primarily co-responsible for planning the product range of the US
division from 2000 until 2005. While Toyota conquered the US market with its hybrid vehicles Prius and Lexus, Chrysler under Zetsche continued to produce its
pickups and minivans.
Zetsche's turnaround policy failed dismally, his right to be Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG has therefore lapsed. His rigid approach
to rationalizing jobs into oblivion and closing production plants is no reason for his ongoing employment as Daimler CEO, his annual salary of more than 5
million euros is completely unjustified. On the contrary, his lack of competence in making the fleet of vehicles more ecological, creating jobs and concentrating
on the core business with the necessary exit from armaments production and exports by subsidiaries mean that the worst is to be feared for the future.
The Supervisory Board under Kopper fails to take the necessary measures
The Supervisory Board under the leadership of Hilmar Kopper has failed to take the necessary measures and to dismiss Dr. Zetsche, who is primarily co-responsible
for the Chrysler disaster. From a shareholder's perspective, the never-ending chain of strategic wrong decisions by the Board of Management and the complete
failure of the Supervisory Board - which officially has to monitor the Board of Management - is no longer acceptable.
The continuation of the longstanding Chrysler disaster would consume additional billions of euros. For this reason, the Critical Shareholders of DaimlerChrysler
(KADC, Arndtstraße 31, 70197 Stuttgart, Germany; phone +49 711 608 396; www.kritischeaktionaere.de and www.juergengraesslin.com) demand an immediate end with a
shock rather than a shock without end. If the necessary measures are not taken, following Reuter's 'Integrated Technology Group' and Schrempp's 'Global
Corporation', we will probably have Zetsche's 'Toyota subsidiary' - the acquisition of the remains of the Daimler Group by the Japanese auto giant, or by
another carmaker, or by a raider group, with dramatic consequences for the employees.«