Daimler AG has denied that Dieter Zetsche will step down early from his roles as the company’s CEO and head of its Mercedes-Benz Cars division to make way for Wolfgang Bernhard, reported Automotive News.

A report in Germany’s Focus weekly magazine saying Zetsche will make way for Bernhard was “fiction,” Daimler spokesman Joeörg Howe said in an emailed statement.

Bernhard, 49, was Zetsche’s No. 2 at Chrysler from 2000 to 2004 before Daimler sold its former U.S. unit. He is currently in charge of production and purchasing at Mercedes.

In February, Bernhard was elevated to Daimler’s six-member management board at the same time as Zetsche’s contract with Daimler was renewed until 2013.

Citing Daimler insiders, Focus said that Zetsche will hand over the role of Mercedes head to Bernhard next year, then in 2012 will step aside to allow Bernhard to become Daimler CEO.

In a statement on Saturday, Daimler said Zetsche will fulfill his contract until it runs out at the end of 2013. “The Focus report is fictional and without foundation,” the company said.

Zetsche’s double role as head of Daimler and the company’s premium cars division has been criticized in the German press, which also speculated in February that Bernhard’s role as head of production and purchasing at Mercedes cars was an interim move before he becomes Mercedes, then Daimler CEO.

In 2004, Bernhard was on the brink of being promoted to head Mercedes but was ousted by then-CEO Juergen Schrempp before he even took the top job after calling the division a basket case.

He then joined the Volkswagen Group to run the Volkswagen brand, putting high emphasis on cost cutting and boosting quality. But he was ousted in January 2007 in a boardroom shakeup engineered by VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech.

Bernhard rejoined Daimler last year.

FRANKFURT — Daimler AG said Tuesday it swung to a second-quarter net profit and lifted its target for full-year earnings before interest and tax, fueled by a speedy recovery in the luxury-car market, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The car and truck maker posted a net profit of €1.25 billion ($1.62 billion) compared with a year-earlier net loss of $1.02 billion, driven by soaring car sales at Mercedes-Benz as well as recovering truck markets. Revenue jumped 28% to €25.11 billion from €19.61 billion.

Daimler said it is now targeting full-year earnings before interest and taxes, or Ebit, of €6 billion compared with a previous target of more than €4 billion.

“We have a very dynamic development of unit sales and revenue in all divisions,” Daimler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said in a statement, adding that the company expects “significant revenue growth” for the full year.

Daimler expects its core Mercedes-Benz division to account for €4 billion in Ebit in 2010 and the truck division for around €1 billion.

The Stuttgart-based company previously had expected Ebit at the Mercedes-Benz Cars unit to come in at the upper end of a €2.5 billion to €3 billion range.

Daimler is the world’s largest truck maker by sales and the world’s second-best-selling luxury car maker behind BMW AG. It was hard hit by last year’s slump in demand for premium cars and trucks, but staged a powerful earnings recovery in recent months and is moving closer to its profitability target at Mercedes-Benz Cars.

According to previous statements, the unit is expected to achieve a return on sales of 10 percent in the second half of 2012 and maintain this level in 2013.

BERLIN – Daimler AG rose to its highest price in 1.5 years in Frankfurt trading after the world’s second-biggest maker of luxury vehicles lifted profit forecasts for the car and truck units, Bloomberg reported.

Mercedes-Benz Cars will post operating profit of 2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to 3 billion euros this year, the Stuttgart-based company said in a statement late yesterday. Daimler projected in February its biggest unit, which makes Mercedes, Smart, and Maybach passenger cars, would earn more than 1.5 billion euros.

CEO Dieter Zetsche is striving to close the gap with luxury market leader BMW AG. Daimler reported better-than-expected earnings in the first quarter on sales of its high-end E-Class and S-Class vehicles and a “favorable overall cost position,” it said.

“It’s good news for Daimler, but this is a lesson in how not to communicate with the market,” said Mike Tyndall, a European autos specialist with Nomura Securities in London.

Daimler surged as much as 7.9 percent to 39.17 euros, the highest price since Sept. 26, 2008. Daimler closed the day up 7.4 percent to 39 euros.

The company’s shares dropped as much as 9.4 percent on Feb. 18 after announcing an unexpected fourth-quarter loss, a dividend cancellation and a conservative profit outlook.

The company’s trucks division will likely make a profit of 500 million euros to 700 million euros this year. Daimler previously targeted operating profit of about 200 million euros for the unit, which makes Mercedes, Freightliner and Fuso heavy- duty vehicles.

TOKYO – Daimler AG, Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. agreed to a global share-swapping alliance that will have the German automaker and its French-Japanese partner cooperating on the development of small cars, commercial vehicles and future powertrains, Automotive News reported.

Under the agreement, Daimler plans to take a 3.1 percent stake each in Nissan and Renault, while Nissan and Renault will each take a 1.55 percent share of Daimler.

The move is part of a push by Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn to broaden cooperation with other automakers, drive down costs and share the burden of developing new technologies to meet stricter emissions regulations. The three-way partnership follows similar tie-ups between Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group and between Volkswagen AG and Suzuki Motor Corp.

Renault and Nissan have an alliance dating to 1999. Today, the French automaker holds a 44.3 percent stake in its Japanese partner, while Nissan has a 15 percent stake in Renault.“In the area of new technologies, demands from regulators and consumers are intense and unrelenting,” Ghosn said at a news conference in Brussels. “We have to continue to develop a wide range of new technologies to stay relevant and competitive, and the investments required on the front end are significant.”

FRANKFURT – Daimler AG’s supervisory board is set to approve a three-year extension to CEO Dieter Zetsche’s contract on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Though some German media had speculated about Zetsche’s future, his internal standing was never in doubt and some company insiders believe his contract could be extended beyond 2013.

“It’s not as if when the three years are up it’s over for him. He’s not that old,” the person said on Tuesday.

A spokesman for Daimler declined to provide a statement. The company traditionally has a policy of not commenting either on boardroom matters or personnel issues.

Zetsche turns 60 in May 2013, an age at which rival BMW AG permits board members to extend their contract only by one-year intervals, if at all.

Zetsche’s success in steering the company through the crisis in the global premium car and commercial vehicle market will largely determine whether he stays on or hands over the reins, most likely to Wolfgang Bernhard.

Bernhard replaced Rainer Schmueckle earlier this month as head of production at premium division Mercedes-Benz Cars. That was the second key management change following the resignation of sales chief Klaus Meier last September. He was replaced by Joachim Schmidt.

Zetsche, who also serves as CEO of Mercedes, has been a supporter of Bernhard ever since they first formed a duo at Chrysler in 2000. He prominently criticized a decision by predecessor Juergen Schrempp to force Bernhard’s departure four years later. Bernhard was in line to be Mercedes CEO.