Written by Ian Pryde in Russian for the weekly newspaper Pyatnitsa (Friday – Пятница) in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic.
Part I was published on 25 December 1998 and Part II on 7 January 1999.
An extended analysis of the global automotive industry and comparative corporate governance. While automotive equity analysts at the best investment banks in the world were extremely bullish at this time, Pryde’s very negative views of DaimlerChrylser were spectacularly vindicated by the company’s subsequent record losses and collapse of the share price.
His assessment that in contrast to DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, Toyota and BMW were world-class companies was equally vindicated by their record sales and profits over the same period, despite the slowdown in the global economy and the crucial North American market.
Pryde’s forecast that Toyota would become the biggest car manufacturer in the world also proved correct.
The chart of the DCX share price below indicates the huge fall in market capitalisation which began a few months after this article appeared.
A rough translation by the author is given below.
Part I, 25 December 1998