German automaker Daimler AG on Tuesday reported a euro1.53 billion ($1.95 billion) fourth-quarter loss -- its first in two years -- and warned that sales of its marquee Mercedes-Benz cars would decline through 2009 because of the economic meltdown's pinch on the automotive industry. The loss for the Stuttgart-based maker of Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach compared to a profit of euro1.7 billion a year earlier. The final figure was dragged down by losses and charges at Chrysler LLC, of which Daimler holds a 19.9 percent stake.
In a sign of the how tough times are for automakers from the U.S. to Japan, the Stuttgart-based company also said it was too soon to provide a detailed forecast on its earnings for 2009, only that "further substantial burdens" were anticipated.
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