Daimler May Shed Wholly Owned Dealerships

Daimler AG may restructure its 33 company-owned Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Germany in a bid to improve its operating margins, Bloomberg News reports.

The news service says Daimler is negotiating to sell some of the outlets and could decouple the other by moving their ownership to a new and separate company.

Daimler wants to achieve a 10% operating margin for its Mercedes-Benz Cars unit. But analysts say the unit's dealership operations, where margins are close to 2%, make that goal difficult.

CEO Dieter Zetsche said earlier this year that Daimler is looking at ways to streamline its retail network in Germany. The company's dealerships operate 158 outlets in the country and employ about 15,000 people.

The IG Metall union worries that restructuring Mercedes retail operations could cut benefits to sales staffers. The union plans a demonstration today.