Zetsche: Smart Safe From Sale

DaimlerChrysler AG has no plans to sell its Smart car business, says the auto maker's CEO and chairman.

“We said nine months ago that in addition to the new business plan we would be open for potential partnerships,” says Dieter Zetsche.

This remark, he tells journalists in Detroit, triggered interest from other companies. But an outright sale of the struggling brand is “not on the table.”

The auto maker's restructuring plan calls for Smart to break even by 2007, and Zetsche says those plans are on track.

Also high on Zetsche's agenda for 2006 is returning Mercedes-Benz to the top of the luxury market in terms of quality, sales and customer satisfaction.

Among the rebound efforts Zetsche has launched since he took charge of the brand late last year is an accountability process he implemented during his tenure at the helm of the Chrysler Group.

The process calls for the establishment of hard targets to address quality issues.

If the target is not achieved on time, the problem is brought to the attention of a succession of managers — ending with the CEO.

Last year, as head of Chrysler, Zetsche says just “one or two” problems landed on his desk.