DaimlerChrysler Kicks Off Day One

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - With bells, parties and a blizzard of publicity, the newly merged DaimlerChrysler comes into being Tuesday when its stock begins trading on 19 financial markets

round the world.

A cocktail reception, live broadcasts to 250 locations in 62 countries, an array of promotional materials and a new advertising campaign aimed at investors are part of the push for a high profile

Day 1" launch of the trans-Atlantic car company.

The chief executives of Daimler AG, Juergen Schrempp, and Chrysler Corp., Bob Eaton, were to attend a reception at Frankfurt's stock exchange tonight, after which they will fly to New York for the stock's debut on Wall Street.

Mr. Schrempp and Mr. Eaton will ring a bell at the New York Stock Exchange together, in a symbol of their cooperation. The stock will have started trading six hours earlier in Frankfurt.

DaimlerChrysler will become the world's third largest car company, with annual sales estimated at $162.5 billion. Schrempp, 54, and Eaton, 58, will jointly lead the new company for three

ears. After that, Schrempp is set to run it alone.

The merger's goal was to gain a strong market share in Europe and North America, and to venture into markets in Asia and Latin American. The new DaimlerChrysler also hopes to advance its

on-automotive industries — financial information technology, telecommunications and aerospace, according to promotional materials for the debut.