FRANKFURT, Oct 1, 2008 (AFP) - Shares in the German car maker Daimler fell by 7.40 percent to 32.78 euros in midday trading here on Wednesday on rumours that it would have to issue a profit warning.

Shares in the sports car maker Porsche had plunged by 9.35 percent to 68.71 euros earlier after it declined to issue an outlook for the current fiscal year.

Other German auto shares crashed as well.

BMW was down by 4.18 at 26.15 euros, while Volkswagen had lost 5.10 percent to 263.83 euros.

The Dax index of blue chip shares, which does not include Porsche, was off by 0.75 percent at 5,787.39 points.