FRANKFURT -- Volkswagen AG will cut its 2004 operating profit target to 1.5-2 billion euros ($1.9-2.5 billion) before one-off factors, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.
Europe's largest car maker, which is due to report second-quarter earnings on Friday, originally had planned to beat last year's figure of 2.5 billion euros before special items.
A company spokesman declined to comment on the newspaper report which did not quote any sources and which will be published on Wednesday.
Due to a weak second quarter in its core automotive business, Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder is reported to have put plans to build a "C1" model on ice for the time being.
The model due for launch in 2007 was supposed to fill the gap between the VW Passat saloon and the VW Phaeton luxury limousine.
The newspaper also wrote that Pischetsrieder would not announce an increase in the 2.2 billion-euro restructuring plan ForMotion to avoid conflict with unions prior to a new round of wage agreement talks starting in September.
