Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche has issued a letter to the automaker's employees to rally them to the cause of growing sales and reclaiming the top spot as global premium sales leader.
Zetsche wrote in the letter: "In the long run we can't be content to be in a 'solid second' or even 'third' place: We are Daimler - we should be far ahead of the pack! And if that requires something that we don't currently have, then we'll identify and develop it."
Mercedes-Benz has been growing its sales lately in an expanding global premium market, but it's competitors, Audi and BMW, have been rising more quickly. Mercedes-Benz is now third, behind second-place Audi, in global luxury sales for 2011.
"Our competitors' success should provide us with additional motivation," said Zetsche.
Daimler's profit margins and sales growth are still healthy by any standards. But in the macho world of selling cars, being the biggest player around is still the number one target to meet.
