Automotive News - May 19, 2008 - (Page 16)

16 • MAY 19, 2008 ADVERTISING STAFF Tough times U.S. sales for 2 of 3 German luxury brands have declined through April. JAN.-APRIL 2008 JAN.-APRIL 2007 % CHANGE Audi BMW Mercedes-Benz Mercedes S class 28,286 85,100 77,930 29,134 92,670 76,916 –2.9% –8.2% +1.3% Source: Automotive News Data Center BMW, Daimler keep a wary eye on U.S. economy James Franey jfraney@craincom.de Circulation 313-446-0450 Advertising 313-446-6050 Classified Advertising 313-446-6065, 800-388-1800 E-mail rgreer@crain.com Web site www.autonews.com ADVERTISING AND SALES DETROIT 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2997 313-446-6790 Fax: 313-446-8030 BMW AG and Daimler AG may be in for a more difficult year than expected, as a slowing U.S. economy overshadows strong growth prospects in many emerging markets. Both German luxury carmakers reported falling first-quarter profits. They were hurt by turmoil in the U.S. credit market, the weakness of the dollar against the euro and the rising cost of raw materials. BMW’s first-quarter pretax profit fell 24.9 percent compared with the same period a year earlier to 539 million euros ($833.4 million). At Daimler, first-quarter pretax profit plunged 40 percent compared with year-ago results, to $3.05 billion. A weaker dollar makes imports from Europe to the United States more expensive and reduces revenue converted from U.S. currency into euros. BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer: “We plan to achieve a new sales record for all three of our brands.” “We plan to achieve a new sales record for all three of our brands and higher profitability.” BMW owns the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands. Daimler CFO Bodo Uebber said his company also would stick to its original goals for this year: Sell more than 2.1 million vehicles worldwide and achieve higher profit levels than in 2007. Possible global effect Nevertheless, both carmakers used strong language to characterize the risks they face. In its first-quarter earnings report, BMW said a U.S. recession and more bad news from the credit markets could have a global effect. “Growth rates could suffer significantly, particularly in Europe and Japan,” BMW said. The carmaker also cited higher energy and raw material prices as “a significant risk.” At Daimler, Uebber said in a conference call that the auto industry faces “more head winds than ever before.” In its quarterly report, Daimler said a U.S. recession and higher material prices could create a further slowdown in the global economy. Audi bucked the lower first-quarter earnings trend, mostly because it sells fewer cars in the United States than its rivals. Audi posted a 28.2 percent rise in operating profit to $794.8 million. Optimistic outlook The automakers said declining U.S. new-car sales and weaker U.S. residual values hurt their financial results, but they remain sure they can meet 2008 performance targets. Both base their optimism on buoyant markets in Asia and eastern Europe. “Our outlook remains unchanged,” said BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer. Rick Greer Director of Sales and Marketing rgreer@crain.com 313-446-6050 Kathleen C. Lightbody, klightbody@crain.com, 313-446-6037 Russ Procassini, rprocassini@crain.com 313-446-0350 Karen Rentschler, krentschler@crain.com 313-446-6058 Jerry Salame, jsalame@crain.com 313-446-0481 Regional Sales Managers Bryan Foster, Marketing Director bfoster@crain.com, 313-446-6013 Ellen Dennehy Director of Relationship Marketing edennehy@crain.com, 313-446-6039 Cheryl Rothe, Marketing Manager crothe@crain.com, 313-446-6767 Lance Graves, Promotion Art Director lgraves@crain.com, 313-446-0469 Brandi Johnson, Marketing Coordinator bnjohnson@crain.com, 313-446-0326 Marie Hingst Classified Advertising Manager mhingst@crain.com, 313-446-6065 Dolores Lanivich, Denise Hendricks Classified Advertising Sales LOS ANGELES Justus Breese jbreese@crain.com, 323-370-2446 Pacific Region Sales Manager Lauren Ford, lford@crain.com 323-370-2447 Todd Landau, tlandau@crain.com 323-370-2466 Regional Sales Managers 6500 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048-4947 Fax: 323-655-8157 NEW YORK Scott Ghedine sghedine@crain.com, 212-210-0126 Henry Woodhouse hwoodhouse@crain.com, 212-210-0125 Regional Sales Managers 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036 Fax: 212-210-0489 CHICAGO Jim Farnan, Regional Sales Manager jfarnan@crain.com, 312-649-5257 360 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60601-3806 Fax: 312-649-5265 CONFERENCES Libby Irwin, Conference Director lirwin@crain.com, 313-446-0420 Shauna Vercher-Morrow Special Events Manager svercher-morrow@crain.com, 313-446-0485 WWW.AUTONEWS.COM John Fitzgerald, Director of Business Planning and Online Commerce jfitzgerald@crain.com, 313-446-1679 DEVELOPMENT J Ferron, Director of Strategic Development jferron@crain.com, 313-446-0434 CIRCULATION Gaining share? Juergen Pieper, an auto analyst at Metzler Bank in Frankfurt, said new models will help all three carmakers. “The German premium brands will continue to gain market share,” he said. BMW CFO Michael Ganal said Europe, contrary to the United States, has not seen a decline in residual values. “The markets here are developing very differently,” he said during a conference call. “In Germany, we saw a positive development, while in the U.K. and Spain, losses were decreasing slightly.” Ganal said he didn’t expect a further drop in U.S. residual values. “Over the medium to long term, we expect them to recover as the U.S. economy stabilizes,” he said. Daimler took a $233.5 million firstquarter charge related to a drop in residual values of Chrysler models (Daimler owns 19.9 percent of Chrysler LLC). But Uebber said this is not a problem for Mercedes-Benz: “There are no signs of any issues here.” c subs@crain.com 888-446-1422 (U.S. & Canada) 313-446-1662 (all other locations) Fax: 313-446-6777 To subscribe via the Web www.autonews.com/subscribe.htm Patrick Sheposh, Circulation Director Lauren Cialella, Circulation Manager Jennifer Natone, Circulation Coordinator Subscriptions U.S. 1 year, $155; 2 years, $266. Canada $239 (U.S.); other countries, $395. Single copy sales, $5 per issue plus shipping. Reprints Mike Shober, The YGS Group, 800-494-9051, Ext. 100 automotivenews@theygsgroup.com Microfilm ProQuest Information and Learning Co. 800-521-0600 PRODUCTION Terry Driscoll, Production Manager tdriscoll@crain.com, 313-446-6062 Larry Williams, Production Supervisor AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE www.autonewseurope.com Jason Stein, Publisher jstein@craincom.de/+49-8153-907522 Nina Sauer, Sales and Marketing Director nsauer@craincom.de/+49-6992-884646 AUTOMOBILWOCHE www.automobilwoche.de Helmut Kluger, Publisher hkluger@craincom.de/+49-8153-907402 Thomas Heringer Sales and Marketing Director theringer@craincom.de/+49-8153-907404 http://www.autonews.com http://www.insigniagroup.com/roi http://www.insigniagroup.com/roi http://WWW.AUTONEWS.COM http://www.autonews.com/subscribe.htm http://www.autonewschina.com http://www.autonewseurope.com http://www.autonewschina.com http://www.automobilwoche.de

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - May 19, 2008

Automotive News - May 19, 2008 Ford eyes smaller F-150 cousin Sonic: Mercedes tries to 'extort' store upgrades Chrysler seeks 25% slash in parts prices Dealership managers pushed Chrysler's latest incentive Crain names 4 new VPs Automotive News staffers win Wheel Awards GM will keep cutting sales to fleets GM studies the future of full-sized trucks American Axle plans to expand in Asia At Lexus, the sales laggards are cars VW positions Tiguan as 'GTI' of small SUVs Tata enters race for 100-mpg car Harley Earl was the daddy of auto design Focus will follow Fiesta as a global vehicle Lexus shows how it sweats details Industry slows tide of state CO2 rules Chevy tweaks Cobalt to add fuel economy Be careful; don't do anything dumb Looking ahead to different industry They thought they knew everything Cerberus doesn't belong in autos Dealers as scapegoats Smart, steady growth works best for suppliers Farley's smart to value Ford's heritage Absurd logic in the U.S., cowardice in Germany BMW, Daimler keep a wary eye on U.S. economy James Franey Dealers' approach can lessen pain of staff cuts GM plans to distinguish Opel with image makeover Make or buy? Software can estimate costs for company Honda, Toyota see robots in their futures Bosch aims to lead in hybrids technology King of hearts Clarke aims to get GM back on track in N.A. Fields navigates Ford through 'white water' LaSorda steers Chrysler's global ventures Toyota's Lentz: A crash course in hard times Truck sales fall 13% in April Modine sells Thermacore unit Alcoa to close Mexico plant Toyoda Gosei expands in Mexico Hayes Lemmerz plans to close Georgia factory Japan's sales slide 2% in 1st quarter; output climbs Dealers Hyundai let U.S. direct Sonata freshening After .com and .edu, is it time for .car? Panoramic sunroof of Lincoln MKS boosts Inalfa sales Chrysler hedged gas price bet Smart phones help dealerships retain customers CAW completes pacts with GM, Chrysler early GM, UAW resolve 2 disputes New media buyer for Chrysler Visteon names Stebbins CEO Convertible registrations drop Ferrari: From denial to debut Buildings Porsches in U.S.? Depends whom you ask Toyota will go slow in Tupelo Ghosn is glum on prices, U.S. sales prospects Pischetsrieder has earned a celebratory cigar NHTSA spins VINs, averts meltdown F_RD GU_S WI_ BUI-_KS 50 PEOPLE FOR 50 YEARS Yutaka Katayama Clarence Talley Jim Morton Pete Brock Marvin Runyon Yoshikazu Hanawa Bill Bruce Shin Maki Jack Collins Mitsuya "Scape" Goto Bob Link Soichi Kawazoe Jerry Hirshberg Takashi Ishihara Roy Rogers John Parker Bob Thomas Teruo Uchino Morrie Sage Bob Thomas Nobe Wakatsuki Earl Hesterberg Carlos Ghosn Lee Clow Jerry Benefield Yutaka Kume Doug Betts Tim McCarthy Jed Connelly Atsushi Nakatsuji Dave Hubbard Joe Opre Patrick Pelata Yoshiyuki Kimura Diane Allen Mad Mike Taylor Chuck King Larry Dominique Mark Igo Mitsuhiko Yamashita Shiro Nakamura Tom Mignanelli Dick Roberts William Cushing Emil Hassan Chester Luby Jane Nakagawa Louis Schweitzer MR. K Ray Lemke Richard McCutcheon

Automotive News - May 19, 2008

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