Daimler AG will end its 64-year relationship with its Kuwaiti distributor at the end of 2018 and is searching for a new partner in the Gulf country, the company has announced.

In a statement sent to Arabian Business, Daimler AG confirmed that the contractual relationship between the company and Abdul Rahman Albisher & Zaid Alkazemi Co. will “end at the end of this year.”

“Daimler is currently in the process of selecting a new distributor for Mercedes-Benz in Kuwait,” the statement said.

“We are continuously analysing our sales structures. This is part of Daimler’s strategy of always offering the best.”

Kuwait Times reported that several Kuwaiti business groups are “vying for the distributorship” in a process that began months before the termination was announced. According to the report, Daimler AG officials have met with potential bidders in both Dubai and Kuwait.

Last week, Daimler AG reported that it had sold a total of 833,000 vehicles in the second quarter of 2018, a 1 percent increase over the same time period the previous year.

The company’s net profit of 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion) was significantly less than the 2.5 billion euros ($2.92 billion) reported in Q2 2017.