Daimler to cooperate over employee's parking lot dispute

Journalists wait for the start of the Daimler annual news conference in Stuttgart, Germany, February 4, 2016. [Photo / Agencies]

Daimler Trucks and Buses (China) Ltd said the company will "take all necessary measures" after Chinese authorities concluded an investigation into one of its employees who is alleged to have insulted a Chinese in a car parking dispute in Beijing.

The company made the statement on Monday after an online post about the incident at noon on Sunday sparked outrage among netizens.

A Chinese was backing his car into a parking space in River Garden Villa in the capital's Shunyi district when a foreigner drove his vehicle into the space, the post said.

When the Chinese confronted the foreigner, the latter said: "I have been in China for a year. The first thing I learned here is that all Chinese are bastards", according to the post.

It also said the man is a senior executive of Mercedes-Benz and he used pepper spray to disperse people irritated by his remark, causing discomfort to one person's eyes.

The incident received wide public attention after two local newspapers－the Beijing Times and Beijing News－reported it on their websites on Sunday and Monday respectively.

Local police said they responded to the dispute in a timely manner, adding that the two parties involved reached an agreement through mediation, according to a statement released late on Monday by Shunyi district police, which did not give further details about the incident.

In a media statement, DTBC, which sells Mercedes-Benz Actros, Axor and Atego trucks in China, confirmed the man is its employee and said it will "fully cooperate" on an investigation over the "personal dispute".

Established in Beijing in September 2012, DTBC is responsible for Daimler's business operations involving imported trucks, special trucks and buses in China.

"We deeply regret the outcome of the personal dispute. The words and actions involved in this dispute as reported in the media do not represent at all the views of the company," it said. "After the outcome of the investigation, we will take all necessary measures accordingly."

China Daily failed to reach the two parties involved in the dispute.

A German resident of River Garden Villa and neighbor of the two parties, who only gave her name as Anne, referred to the incident as "more of a cultural thing".

"Germans can be quite direct. That guy might not have been completely accustomed to Chinese culture," she said.

Li Lei contributed to this story.