Friday, July 31, 2009
Weak results from VW and Renault
Volkswagen (VW) and Renault have become the latest carmakers to report poor results as the industry struggles with a sharp drop in sales.
Germany's VW said its group-wide net profit for the six months to 30 June declined 81% from a year earlier to 494m euros ($697m; £422m).
Meanwhile, Renault made a 2.71bn euros loss for the same period, compared with a profit of 1.58bn euros last year.
PSA Peugeot Citroen, Daimler and Nissan all reported losses on Wednesday.
'Hit severely'
VW said its group-wide sales - which includes its Audi, Seat and Skoda brands - fell 9% from a year earlier to 51.2bn euros.
VW said it had been "significantly affected by the global financial and economic crisis".
Renault's half-year sales were down 24% to 15.99bn euros. The French firm's managing director, Patrick Pelata, said it had been "hit severely" by the global recession.
Both firms said they expected though trading conditions to continue for the remainder of the year.
DATED: 31.07.09
FEED: AW
