- Approximately 6,000 shareholders expected in Berlin

- Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG and Head of Mercedes Car Group: 'The strength of our brands is one of our most valuable assets.'

BERLIN, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board of DaimlerChrysler AG will today recommend to the Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting that the name of the Group be changed to Daimler AG following the disposal of 80.1% of its stake in Chrysler Holding LLC.

According to the text of his speech, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG and Head of Mercedes Car Group, will explain to the approximately 6,000 shareholders the rationale behind the decision to rename the company. According to Zetsche, a clear distinction should be made between the corporate brand Daimler and the Group's various product brands. Wherever the focus is on the Group as a whole, the company wants to present itself consistently as Daimler, for example in its dealings with political decision-makers and the general public, in the financial markets, in its relations with the business media, and as an employer. The company also aims to present itself as Daimler in all areas where several brands are involved, thus providing an umbrella designation for all of the individual product brands.

'The strength of our brands is one of our most valuable assets,' Zetsche says in his speech. 'Clearly, one of our central tasks is to maintain and enhance that strength.' Mercedes-Benz, for example, has the richest tradition of any automobile brand. It's also the world's most valuable premium automobile brand, and a recent study has revealed that it's still the most coveted automobile brand in Germany. According to Zetsche, 'No other automobile brand shines as brightly as the Mercedes star.'

For more than 80 years, Mercedes-Benz has been the company's business card in its dealings with customers all over the world. In the future, the brand with the star will continue to take center stage at the Group. As a result, 'the proud name of Benz will not only remain prominent, it will have significantly higher visibility,' according to the text of Zetsche's speech, in which he refers to the many demands for the retention of the name 'Benz' in the company name that were expressed before the Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting.

Wherever the company is dealing directly with customers, and in areas where the focus is primarily on products of a single brand, the corresponding brand name will be used.