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Daimler’s first quarter profit nearly doubles

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

  Daimler said Friday that it nearly doubled its profit in the first quarter as sales in China continued to show big gains and the market for heavy trucks recovered.

The maker of Mercedes cars and Freightliner trucks, based in Stuttgart, said that net profit rose to $1.75 billion USD, compared to $908 million in the first quarter of 2010. Sales rose 17 percent to $36.6 billion.

The figures were in line with expectations, but shares in the company fell 2 percent as investors registered disappointment that the company seemed to simply be benefiting from an improved global economy.

“I wouldn’t say there is anything particular about their products or way of doing business that is the main reason for the improvement,” said Sascha Heiden, an auto analyst at IHS Global Insight in Frankfurt. “It’s the natural mechanism of volumes bouncing back and purchasing power bouncing back.”

The first quarter result “confirms our positive outlook for the year 2011,” Daimler’s chief executive Dieter Zetsche said. “We are on the right track.”

Like rivals BMW and the Audi division of Volkswagen, Daimler’s Mercedes car division is profiting from the appetite for luxury cars among Chinese buyers. Unit sales in China rose 82 percent to almost 50,000 vehicles, Daimler said.

Daimler also exemplifies the success of Germany’s export economy, which has driven unemployment to a nearly 20-year low of 7.1 percent. Daimler said Friday that it had added almost 2,700 employees in Germany since the end of March 2010, bringing the total inside the country to 164,000.

Car sales also rose modestly in Mercedes’ traditional markets, increasing 4 percent in both the United States and Europe.

The same factors helped sports car maker Porsche, also based in Stuttgart, to more double its operating profit in the first quarter to $735 million, as sales rose 10 percent to $3.4 billion, the company said Friday.

Porsche said profit of the holding company that owns its shares was $1 billion in the first quarter, after a loss a year earlier. The result included earnings from the company’s stake in Volkswagen, with which Porsche is in a complex merger process.

Daimler said that truck sales, which tend to closely track economic growth, rose 27 percent to 89,000 vehicles. Operating profit for the trucks division more than tripled to $615 million. Daimler’s commercial vehicle brands include Freightliner in the United States and Mitsubishi Fuso in Japan.

Daimler said it would take charges of $115 million for damages and lost production due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and “will remain watchful.” It said the charges do not reflect insurance compensation the company might receive.

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Saab’s trials force Spyker Cars to turn to China

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Saab’s inability to re-establish production because of unpaid bills is starting to reflect poorly on its owner, Spyker Cars. The Dutch company reported net losses of 72 million euros (around 201.2 million CAD) today for the first quarter of 2011.

Subaru predicts 50% sales boost for Impreza in 2012

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Wards Auto reports that Tom Doll, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Subaru of America, predicts a 50-percent sales boost for the Impreza next year in the United States. And that’s without a Volkswagen Jetta-style price cut.

Chrysler announces Canadian pricing of 200 S sedan & convertible

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Chrysler unveiled the S variants of the 200 at the latest NY auto show and has now announced pricing as well. A sedan will set you back $28,995 and a convertible model $39,495. That’s just $1,000 more than the Limited versions and, according to the manufacturer, you get an extra $5,000 worth of goodies.

Renault reaches agreement with wronged managers

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Slowly but surely, the industrial espionage saga that shook Renault – and turned out to be an internal power struggle that caused the dismissal of managers Matthieu Tenenbaum, Michel Balthazard and Bertrand Rochette – is drawing to a close. The French automaker announced that a settlement had been reached with the three men.

Birdman spends $8M for Maybach Exelero

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Birdman announced via Twitter that he just purchased a Maybach Exelero for a cool $8 million. The fourth wealthiest rapper according to Forbes is making quite a statement!

Top 5 worst cars according to Ben Collins, former Top Gear Stig

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Ben Collins, a well-known race car driver and famous for his role as the second Stig in the popular TV show Top Gear, has published an article listing the five worst cars he’s ever driven.

Mercedes-Benz USA to open Driving Academy in Los Angeles

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Mercedes-Benz USA announced today that it will open the company’s first Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy in Los Angeles in October 2011, offering a fully-integrated, California DMV-approved teen driver education program.

2011 New York: Hits and Misses

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

Kia’s new design language looks pretty good on its smallest sedan. With those distinctive looks, 40 mpg, and Kia’s track record for decent pricing, they will be only one outcome — lots of happy customers. Also great to see “stop-start” showing up on a high-volume, low-cost vehicle like Rio.

2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Kowalski Edition becomes instant classic

Saturday, April 30th, 2011 | Car News, General | Comments Off

The 1971 movie Vanishing Point is one of the top reasons many people fell in love with cars, more specifically muscle cars. The main character, known simply as Kowalski, attempted to win a bet by driving a white ’70 Challenger R/T from Denver to San Francisco in less than 15 hours.