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Paris auto latest: Peugeot, BMW
PARIS, France (Reuters) -- European car executives were out in force on Thursday plugging their latest models and financial fortunes at the Paris motor show. Here's the latest from Mondial de L'Automobile. BMW (FBMW): Luxury German carmaker BMW said it expected its unit sales for the first nine months of the year to rise to 800,000 vehicles and the company had raised its target for Mini sales this year. BMW chief executive Helmut Panke told Reuters in an interview the carmaker would post a five percent rise in BMW brand sales for the first nine months of the year against the backdrop of depressed global car markets. Total unit sales would rise 19 percent, although this figure includes the Mini which was only launched late last year. He also said the company had again raised its estimate of Mini unit sales for 2002 and they would be "about 10 percent" above a previous target of 120,000 vehicles. But Panke acknowledged that the Mini's profit margins would be lower than that of other BMW cars in its first life cycle. BMW model life cycles are generally seven years. "We will not hit our usual profitability targets in the Mini's first life cycle," said Panke. "But we won't lose any money either." DaimlerChrysler (FDCX): Top executives at the U.S. arm of German automaker DaimlerChrysler pledged to continue cutting costs after meeting next year's goals in a bid to achieve long term profit growth for the unit. The Chrysler unit chiefs, ahead of schedule on a restructuring plan that had envisaged break even at the end of this year, also hinted they may exceed their target of posting a two billion euros adjusted operating profit next year. "Assuming there are no major events out of our control, we continue to at least deliver on our turnaround plan...we have been able to beat targets (this year) and it would be nice to continue this track record," Chrysler Presdient Dieter Zetsche told Reuters in an interview at the Paris Auto Show. Chrysler has achieved the better-than-expected results so far, posting an operating profit of over 900 million euros in the first two quarters, due mainly to greater-than-expected cost savings in the last 18 months. Ford (F): Ford Europe chief operating officer Martin Leach confirmed the European operations had raised its 2003 profit target as the group continues to cut costs. He said the unit planned to post a significant profit improvement for this year and next year. "We are certainly keeping our profit target intact and have in fact raised it slightly,'' Leach said at the Paris auto show. He also said he expected the Ford brand to boost its market share in Europe to nine percent at about the end of this year from 8.8 percent now. Backed by pop sensation Kylie Minogue, who made a surprise appearance at the show, Ford introduced several new European vehicles on Thursday, including the Streetka, a convertible version of its Ka small car, a three door version of its high-volume Fiesta and a concept minivan based on its medium-sized Focus car.
PSA Peugeot Citroen (PUG): The company's chairman shrugged off concern over a morose European car market, outlining a lofty new sales target underpinned by growth in markets far from the French automaker's home turf. Jean-Martin Folz told journalists at the Paris motor show he continued to expect a flat European car market next year, after a decline of four to five percent in 2002, but was aiming nonetheless for four million unit sales in 2006. That would be 23 percent greater than the number of vehicles Europe's number two carmaker expects to sell in 2002, with most of the growth coming thanks to product offensives in China, Central Europe and South America. The forecast is evidence that Folz wants to retake the initiative from rival Renault, whose alliance with Japan's Nissan Motor Co is continuing to impress investors.
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