Juergen E. Schrempp at the Annual Shareholders Meeting

BERLIN, April 10 DaimlerChrysler has gotten off to a positive start in the new financial year, according to its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Juergen E. Schrempp. ``Based on current information, the first quarter reinforces our earnings forecast for the entire company for all of 2002,'' Schrempp said in prepared remarks at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting in Berlin, which is expected to be attended by an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 shareholders.

The DaimlerChrysler Chairman reaffirmed the expectation that an Operating Profit of ``significantly more than double last year's figure can be achieved this year. This statement still stands.'' In addition, he said DaimlerChrysler would stand by the statement that was announced in February 2001 for subsequent years. ``But, due to projected economic trends, we will only be able to achieve these targets at a somewhat later date,'' said Schrempp.

The performance of the operating units in the first quarter of 2002 was as follows:

Based on trends to date, the Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars and smart Division had a good first quarter. Despite the difficult market environment and the model change-over of the E-Class sedan, sales were better than planned and continue the excellent numbers recorded last year. Earnings in the first quarter are expected to reach around last year's high level.

Based on the company's most current information, after six consecutive negative quarters the Chrysler Group will report slightly positive operating results for the first quarter of 2002.

Earnings of the Commercial Vehicle Division are expected to be affected by the difficult market situation, which led to significant production cuts. However, a positive trend is beginning to emerge, with respect to incoming orders vis-a-vis planning. This also holds true for Freightliner.

DaimlerChrysler will release a detailed interim report on the first quarter at the end of April.

Looking back at 2001, Schrempp referred to DaimlerChrysler's Operating Profit of EUR 1.3 billion, excluding one-time effects, which was consistent with the profit range announced a year ago. This result was achieved in a very difficult environment ``that completely defied all expert forecasts and assumptions that had been the basis for our planning in February 2001.'' As a result, the growth of markets worldwide in which DaimlerChrysler does business slowed from 3.9 percent in 2000 to 1.2 percent in 2001.

Proposed Dividend At the Annual General Meeting, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board are proposing a dividend distribution of EUR 1.00 per share for 2001.

Four Pillars of Corporate Strategy

Juergen Schrempp spoke in detail about the progress made in the implementation of the corporate strategy, based on the four pillars of:

Global Presence Strong Brand Portfolio Broad Product Range, and Leadership in Technology and Innovation. Schrempp ruled out changing the strategy because of operating challenges. ``Last year at this time, I said that we do not believe it makes any sense to respond to operating problems by changing the direction of our strategy,'' he said. DaimlerChrysler is maintaining its course ``because we are convinced that our strategy will lead your company to the top of the automotive industry,'' he added.

Schrempp said the Executive Automotive Committee (EAC), which serves as a steering group for the worldwide automotive business, identified potential cost-cutting initiatives and began important cross-divisional projects in 2001.

When it comes to expanding ``Global Presence,'' DaimlerChrysler is in an excellent position: ``No other automotive company in the triad markets of North America, Europe and Asia is as well positioned as we are,'' said Schrempp.

This also applies to the ``strong and attractive brands'' component of the strategy. ``DaimlerChrysler already has one of the strongest brand portfolios in our industry.'' With regard to the company's ``broad product range,'' Schrempp clearly stated that the sharing of Mercedes-Benz components with other corporate brands is beneficial to the Mercedes-Benz brand as well. The increase in production units would lead to much faster amortization of development costs at Mercedes-Benz, coupled with shorter development times and higher quality at the other brands. At the same time, Schrempp also set the limit for Mercedes-Benz's cooperation with other brands: ``I don't have to repeat that there will not be any platform strategy with Mercedes-Benz.''

With a view to broadening the company's ``leadership in technology and innovation,'' the EAC has created a Technology and Innovation Calendar, which specifies the technology that is to be incorporated into a specific brand and product at a certain point in time. ``This comprehensive Group-wide approach enables us to keep innovations exclusively within the company for longer periods,'' Schrempp explained.

Despite the progress already made in the implementation of the strategy, Schrempp emphasized that he is ``far from being satisfied'' with the accomplishments to date, adding: ``Strategy defines a long-term process and accordingly requires several years of implementation. We have a clear plan to achieve this. We will continue to push forward along this path in 2002 as well.''