Chrysler dropping out of BBDC board

Shanghai, September 11 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing Benz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BBDC), a 50-50 joint venture between DaimlerChrysler and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., Ltd, will hold its first board meeting with new members later this month, but no Chrysler members will attend the meeting, reported Jinghua newspaper.

In June, BBDC began to cut the number of its board members and now it has only six members, with three of them from Daimler and three from Beijing Auto, according to company sources. Participants at the meeting will have a discussion on whether to suspend production of Chrysler 300C and Sebring models in China, the report said.

The result is unknown, but Chrysler may eventually quit the Beijing-based 30-year venture as predicted by earlier media reports. Chrysler employees have begun leaving BBDC in succession, with only four technicians left for the supervision of the production of Chrysler 300C and Chrysler Sebring, a Sinocast report said last month, citing people close to the venture.

Beijing Auto Chairman Xu Heyi said in a recent interview that the making and sales of both Chrysler 300C and Sebring will continue as usual at the joint venture for the time being, but it will stop producing them when sales of the models fall further.

Officials from Chrysler China told Shanghai Daily that the automaker will continue producing cars under a six-year licensing of production due to expire in 2010.