Daimler sells its stake in Tata Motors

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German automaker Daimler has sold its 5.34 percent stake in Tata Motors, India’s largest indigenous car manufacturer and best known for building the low cost Nano city-car.  With a starting price of approximately $2,500, the Nano is currently the world’s cheapest car, and has been on sale in India since mid-2009.

Daimler reportedly earned $410 million from the stock sale, causing Tata Motors’ shares to slip roughly 6 percent during that day’s trading.   The cooperation between Daimler and Tata Motors stretches back 50 years.  However, according to a report in The Financial Times, the sale of Tata Motors stock signals a desire for Daimler, based in Stuttgart, Germany, to streamline its worldwide automotive partnerships.

The move marks another step in the premium car and truckmaker’s move to disentangle itself from a web of partnerships built over the past decade with carmakers including Chrysler and Mitsubishi.

It will further boost Daimler’s net cash position, which had already jumped by several billion euros to €7.3bn in its industrial business by the end of 2009.

(via The Financial Times, Tata Motors hit by Daimler stake sale)

In separate news, Daimler used the recent Geneva Motor Show to announce a partnership with Chinese carmaker BYD (Build Your Dreams).  The two companies plan on jointly developing an electric car, tailored to meet the needs of the Chinese market.