Alex Webb, Columnist

Daimler Dodges the Robo-Taxi Storm

Chinese investment could turn out to be just the anchor shareholding the German carmaker lacks.

February 23, 2018 at 5:48 PM UTC

Alex Webb is a correspondent for Bloomberg Quicktake. He previously covered the technology, telecoms and media industries in London, San Francisco and Munich.

Mercedes-Benz S-Class And Luxury Maybach Automobile Assembly Line — Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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Over the past three years, Daimler AG has surpassed BMW AG and Volkswagen AG's Audi to seize the crown of world's largest luxury carmaker.

But CEO Dieter Zetsche has one distinct disadvantage to his German peers: the Mercedes-Benz parent has no anchor shareholder. While BMW is controlled by the Quandts and VW by the Porsche family, Daimler's biggest shareholder is the Kuwait Investment Authority, which has a comparatively small 6.8 percent stake.