Daimler doesn't rule out future cooperation with Tesla: report

[October 29, 2018]  WARSAW (Reuters) - Daimler AG <DAIGn.DE> does not rule out cooperating with Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> in future even though the German luxury car producer sold its stake in the U.S. electric vehicles company, Daimler's chief executive told a Polish newspaper.

Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG, attends a press conference on the second press day of the Paris auto show, in Paris, France, October 3, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

Dieter Zetsche told the daily Rzeczpospolita that after selling the Tesla shares he "never regretted it. This does not exclude a cooperation in a future."

Daimler says Zetsche's remarks were made in response to a hypothetical question during a roundtable discussion at the Paris Motor Show and that there was no plan currently to explore opportunities to cooperate with Tesla.

The Stuttgart-based maker of Mercedes-Benz cars sold its 4 percent stake in Tesla in 2014. Last month it unveiled its electric SUV to compete with Tesla, which has dominated the fast-growing market for premium battery cars.

Zetsche, who is set to leave his post in May, said he saw no reason to buy Tesla shares again.

(Reporting by Marcin Goclowski and Edward Taylor; Editing by Edmund Blair and Maria Sheahan)

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