An executive of the German automotive company Daimler AG in Beijing has been fired after reportedly shouting “all you Chinese are bastards!” during a parking dispute.
Rainer Gartner, the head of its Daimler Trucks & Buses China Ltd subdivision, was fired following a parking dispute which involved a racist insult.
“I am in China one year already. The first thing I learned here is: All you Chinese are bastards,” Gartner allegedly shouted at another driver. The pair were reportedly disputing a parking space in the exclusive Shunyi District neighbourhood.
The original post on Chinese social media site Sina has since gone viral. According to the post, the incident took place at Beijing River Garden. Gartner, driving a Mercedes-Benz, allegedly “stole” a parking space from another resident before launching into his racist tirade.
Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, issued a company statement apologising for the incident, declaring that Gartner has been fired from his post in China and will be reassigned elsewhere.
“The nature of the dispute and in particular the manner in which it was conducted, irrespective of any comments alleged to have been made, is adjudged to be not only of concern to the public but viewed by us as detrimental to the standing of our company, unbecoming of a manager of our brand and prejudicial to our good name,” Daimler said.
The automotive giants also reassured the public that the parking dispute was resolved in an “amicable manner” and confirmed that Beijing police have closed their investigations regarding the case.
