Forecasts

LUCA CIFERRI

Ghosn: Too early to revise European sales predictions downward

12:01 am U.S. ET | March 5, 2013
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn believes it is too early to revise downward sales predictions for Europe this year. Ghosn acknowledged that January and February sales in the region had been very bad with a combined decline of about 9 percent, but he added that sales can't continue to decline forever.... Read More »

 

GKN looks to U.S., Asia to offset weak European car demand in 2013

Feb. 26, 2013 12:49 CET
UK partsmaker GKN predicted another gloomy year for Europe's recession-hit car markets, saying the company would have to rely on the United States and Asia for growth again this year. In 2012, group pretax profit rose 19 percent to 497 million pounds ($751 million), the company said on Tuesday.... Read More »

 

Volkswagen's start to year is worse than in 2012, Poetsch says

Feb. 25, 2013 09:49 CET
Volkswagen CFO Hans Dieter Poetsch predicted the first quarter would be worse than a year earlier, adding to a forecast last week that VW's 2013 operating profit probably wouldn't increase as Europe's auto market shrinks.... Read More »

 

Fiat-Chrysler increased global sales by 12.7% in January

Feb. 21, 2013 13:33 CET
Fiat-Chrysler's global sales increased by 12.7 percent in January, boosted by strong demand for the Fiat brand in Brazil and for Chrysler vehicles in North America.... Read More »

 

Carmakers pin hopes on Europe's UK bright spot

Feb. 19, 2013 14:18 CET
The UK was the only major European car market to grow sales last year, but to maintain the growth, automakers may have to keep offering such large incentives that they may erode any remaining profit.... Read More »

 

PSA's banking unit cut to junk by S&P on sluggish Europe car sales

Feb. 15, 2013 08:34 CET
PSA has been downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor's while its banking unit has been cut to junk by the firm on sluggish sales forecasts in Europe.... Read More »

 

PSA to shift Peugeot brand upscale in bid to return to profit

1:57 am U.S. ET | Feb. 13, 2013
PSA laid out plans to move its namesake Peugeot brand upscale to help the automaker return to profit after the company posted a record 5 billion euro ($6.73 billion) net loss for 2012.... Read More »

 

PSA will move Peugeot brand upscale in bid to return to profit

Feb. 13, 2013 07:57 CET
PSA laid out plans to move its namesake Peugeot brand upscale to help the automaker return to profit after the company posted a record 5 billion euro ($6.73 billion) net loss for 2012.... Read More »

 

NADA economist: 15.4 million in U.S. vehicle sales this year

5:17 pm U.S. ET | Feb. 9, 2013
With the United States economy gaining momentum, NADA chief economist Paul Taylor predicts industry sales will top 15.4 million vehicles this year.... Read More »

 

Daimler sees flat 2013 profit after 10% fall last year

Feb. 7, 2013 09:19 CET
Daimler forecast unchanged 2013 profit as spending for new models and a revamp of the automaker's operations eat into earnings. The company said earnings fell 10 percent in 2012.... Read More »

 

Daimler sees flat 2013 profit after 10% fall last year

3:19 am U.S. ET | Feb. 7, 2013
Daimler forecast unchanged 2013 profit as spending for new models and a revamp of the automaker's operations eat into earnings. The company said earnings fell 10 percent in 2012.... Read More »

 

Autoliv says weak European car market will dent first-quarter sales

Jan. 31, 2013 13:19 CET
Autoliv said its sales in the first quarter of 2013 were likely to fall 4 percent due to weak European car markets.... Read More »

 

JLR profit growth stalls on Evoque's growing share of sales

Jan. 24, 2013 06:01 CET
Jaguar Land Rover said fiscal third-quarter profit growth probably stalled because of currency shifts and its cheaper Evoque SUV model attracting a higher share of buyers.... Read More »

 

Renault targets gains this year after Europe hurts group 2012 sales

Jan. 18, 2013 15:46 CET
Renault is targeting growth in 2013 with new models after recessions in Europe led to the company's first annual delivery drop in four years.... Read More »

 

2013 AUTOMOTIVE NEWS WORLD CONGRESS

Analyst sees housing, credit improvements releasing pent-up demand

8:32 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 15, 2013
Light-vehicle sales will rise to 17 million units in the United States by 2015, from 2012's 14.9 million, Morgan Stanley Managing Director Adam Jonas told the Automotive News World Congress. Pent-up demand will fuel that rise, he said.... Read More »

 

Marchionne to narrow Fiat European loss as market hits bottom

Jan. 14, 2013 17:19 CET
Fiat plans to narrow losses in Europe this year as sales may recover in the second half. A revival in demand in the second six months of 2013 is "possible,"CEO Marchionne said, while warning that pricing is still a problem.... Read More »

 

Conti sees slower growth as global car industry slows

Jan. 14, 2013 10:49 CET
Continental, Europe's second-largest maker of auto parts, said sales and profitability growth may slow in 2013 as the region's market contraction causes unpredictability for the global car industry.... Read More »

 

Analysts: U.S. auto sales outlook hinges on end to political strife

9:27 pm U.S. ET | Jan. 13, 2013
Nothing is more likely to stall auto sales this year in the United States than continued political wrangling. That was the conclusion of a panel of economists and forecasters at a Society of Automotive Analysts conference here Sunday evening before the Detroit auto show.... Read More »

 

Fiat, PSA forecast to be biggest losers as Europe crisis worsens in 2013

Jan. 11, 2013 06:01 CET
With Europe's new car sales set to fall this year to levels not seen since the 1990s, pressure will increase on automakers' revenues and operating margins. Fiat and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen may be the biggest losers in 2013, according to industry observers.... Read More »

 

Audi doubts 2013 profit growth on weak Europe

Dec. 21, 2012 16:34 CET
Audi is turning more gloomy about the chances of growing earnings next year due to weakening European markets, potentially making it harder for parent Volkswagen Group to meet its goal of lifting profits in 2013.... Read More »

 

Volvo CEO sees no big sales rebound in 2013

Dec. 18, 2012 08:16 CET
Volvo is expecting roughly flat sales next year but has no plans at present to cut more staff in its production, CEO Hakan Samuelsson said.... Read More »

 

BMW Q3 profit rises 14% as China growth offsets Europe slump

Nov. 6, 2012 08:34 CET
BMW Group reported a 14 percent gain in third-quarter profit as growth in China helped offset a market downturn in Europe. Earnings before interest and taxes rose to 2 billion euros ($2.56 billion) from 1.76 billion euros a year earlier, the company said in a statement today.... Read More »

 

TomTom trims revenue goal as European car sales fall

Oct. 31, 2012 15:08 CET
TomTom has trimmed its full-year revenue forecast, citing falling sales of its built-in car navigation devices in Europe.... Read More »

 

Fiat forecasts prolonged European slump as regional quarterly losses grow

Oct. 30, 2012 13:19 CET
Fiat forecasts a prolonged downturn in the European market after reporting third-quarter operating losses in Europe grew 61 percent to 219 million euros from a year earlier. The automaker said global third-quarter earnings before interest, taxes and one-time items, which Fiat Group calls trading profit, advanced 12 percent to 951 million euros on sales of its Chrysler vehicles in North America.... Read More »

 

Marchionne seen missing Fiat revenue target by 15 billion euros

Oct. 29, 2012 09:04 CET
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne set a target in 2010 to sell 6 million cars annually by 2014, a goal that analysts judged impossible to achieve. They were right. Marchionne, who also runs Chrysler, says he will revise his forecasts when the two companies announce third-quarter results on Tuesday as analysts estimate revenue targets will need to come down by 15 billion euros ($19 billion).... Read More »