The Ferrari board of directors has expanded to include a surprise member from Abu Dhabi in the figure of Khaldoon Al Mubarak. The Italians are a little miffed, to say the least, proclaiming a headline of “An Arab on Ferrari’s board” and saying that this is the first time this has happened.

Al Mubarak is chairman of the Mubadala financing group from Abu Dhabi, and takes his place on the board along with Alessandro Gianni Baldi from Fiat, who are replacing Jean Todt and Ferruccio Luppi.

Ferrari recently released its sales figures for this year, down on last year’s, but has put a positive spin on the situation, highlighting that 2008 was a record year for Ferrari sales. The first nine months of this year were down 6.9 percent on the same period last year, though that figure in the last three months has reduced to 4.3 percent with earnings of 396 million euros.

Source | Autoblog.it and Quattroruote

Continue reading: Ferrari board gets new member from Abu Dhabi

It may seem impossible with the current economic crisis to find a car manufacturer upbeat about 2009’s prospects for the car industry. But Alfa Romeo’s Luca de Meo is positive that the new year will be a good year for Alfa, especially with sales of the new MiTo, expected to reach between 60 and 70,000 units. 2009 will also herald the arrival of the new Alfa 149 in the final quarter, as well as an update on the 159 model.

If things go really well Alfa could even experience a sales increase on 2008, to between 115,000 and 120,000 cars. This is despite postponing the US Alfa launch, as the local market in Italy is likely to be the strongest with around 52,000 vehicles predicted to be sold. 2008 was a tough year for the Italian market, with the marketing director, Francesco Cimmino, saying that request was down on 2007 levels.

Source | La stampa

Continue reading: Alfa Romeo: prospects for 2009 in car the industry

Crisis is not a word that exists at the Ferrari headquarters, with the company realising in the third quarter of 2008, sales of up to 450 million euros, equal to a growth of 22.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

The sales are due in particular to the 430 Scuderia and the prestigious 599 GTB Fiorano. 1,520 vehicles were delivered in the period in question - an impressive figure. Ferrari has closed the period with profits of 79 million euros (equal to 17.6 percent of earnings), an increase of 41.1 percent compared to the 56 million euros of the same period in 2007.

The brand experienced a growth of 21.1 percent in the first nine months of 2008, a total of 1,419 million euros with 5,026 cars delivered. Profits were up 54.8 percent in these nine months, to 243 million euros, compared to the 157 million euros of last year. For the immediate future, Ferrari can only smile, knowing that the Ferrari California is already sold out until 2011. Crisis? Hardly!

Source | Omniauto (Thanks to “W Made in Italy” for the tip)

Continue reading: Ferrari: 2008 earnings up from last year, sales success for Ferrari models

Fiat has presented its quarterly sales results with plenty of talk, considerations and future predictions. While the company says its well-equipped to confront 2009, this has nothing to do with the big news.

From the presenation slides, reproduced by the BorsaItaliana (Italian stock exchange), Fiat says: “The fundamental plan 2007-2010 will not be influenced by the temporary deviations foreseen for 2009, except for the return of Alfa Romeo to the US market, which has been postponed to 2011.”

So Alfa will not be celebrating its 100 years with the ambitious and much-awaited re-conquest of America, once again delaying an appointment with history. We’re a little disappointed, and will see how 2009 develops for the group.

Continue reading: Alfa Romeo US return postponed to 2011

After 2007, a year in which Lamborghini experienced record sales, it looks like 2008 will also close with a positive balance sheet. Speaking at the inauguration of the new logistics centre for the company, Stephan Winkelmann, CEO, has revealed that the success is due to Lamborghini’s luxurious product line. A richer clientele seems immune to the economic crisis, which has heavily affected more ‘common’ manufacturers.

Lamborghini production will rise slightly this coming year, to about 2,500 units, which generate more profits. “Our strategy for the future is to continue making two models: the LP560-4 and the LP640-4,” said Winkelmann. A third of sales will be aimed at Europe, a third in America and the final third in the Asia-Pacific. We add that perhaps in four to five years, a coupè-sedan like the Estoque concept could emerge and give new success to the Lamborghini brand.

Source | Quattroruote

Continue reading: Lamborghini: sales success for 2008

The game of cat and mouse is getting very tense, as Automative News reports that Porsche will assume definitive control of Volkswagen by the end of November this year.

And what better day than the 26th, when annual sales figures and balance sheets will be released? Porsche has revealed no details of these latest moves or when it would like to conclude the negotiations. There is still plenty of bureaucracy to get over, after the historic jump to a 35 percent stake, but it now seems inevitable that the magic 50 percent will be achieved.

Continue reading: Mark this date: November 26, Porsche takes control of Volkswagen

Ford is going through a period of crisis at the moment, having been overtaken by Volkswagon, in debt, producing European utilities instead of the usual SUVs and pick-ups, and looking for customers for the Volvo brand after having already sold off Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover.

Now it looks like Mazda could be next, as the company looks for more liquidity. Ford possesses 33.9 percent of Mazda, and after a sales increase from 2007, the brand could be ripe for the picking.

Source | MotorAuthority (Thanks to lupin3rd)

Continue reading: Ford to sell stake in Mazda brand

Growth in the European car market continued in April, after January and March, continental sales hit 1,420,944 units, up a good 9.6 percent compared to the 1,296,329 sold in 2007.

The spring wake up was driven by Germany and France (growing 15 and 20 percent respectively), while Italy hit a sudden stop, down by 2.9 percent. The 8.2 percentage points compared to last year’s figures are easily explained - “fault” of incentives. Two extra working days also make their mark in this year’s results.

A big beneficiary was the Fiat brand, which registered astronomical increases in competing countries: in France up 49.8 percent, while in Germany growth was “limited” to 17.7 percent. Success can be put down to the Panda and the 500, in first and second place in with percentages of 16.9 and 15.

Continue reading: European market in April up 9.6 percent

Infiniti, the luxury Nissan brand that will debut in Europe in October, has launched a booking list on the internet in response to the large scale request from the public.

The list can be found on the official Infiniti Europe site where you can easily sign up and put yourself on the list. According to Bastien Schupp, CEO of the European division, the response has been beyond expectation, with calculations that it has reached about 10,000 requests on the continent.

The first markets to have official showrooms will include France, Italy and Spain, along with others. Another six countries will follow in January 2009, and finally in April the last six with Germany and Great Britain on board.

Via | AutoMotoPortal

Continue reading: Infiniti: launch of online reservations

Toyota Motor Corporation has triumphantly announced today that global sales of the Prius, “first great hybrid car”, has reached one million units.

The precise figures, calculated at the end of the first quarter 2008, passes 1,028,000 cars sold in 40 countries with a significant share going to Japan and the United States. Toyota calculates that the Prius sold have contributed to cuts in total CO2 emissions that amount to 4.5 million tonnes compared to what would have occurred with petrol cars of the same class.

The first Prius series was launched in Japan in 1997 and then in 2000 in the US and Europe. The current model comes from 2003, and since 2005 has also been produced in China, in the Changchun plant. In the course of the next year, Toyota expects to introduce the Prius also to South Korea as part of a global market expansion in hybrids, of which the company intends to sell one million a year as of the next decade.

Continue reading: Toyota Prius reaches one million sales

Could the leap year bring bad luck to the Japanese? Toyota could be about learn: in the US market, after a consistent fall in sales throughout 2007 (less 28 percent in last quarter), the negative trend continues for the current year, such as to see a possible decline of 27 percent by the end of 2008.

If this trend cements itself, Toyota would mark the first negative result in terms of profit after nine years of constant growth. President of the company Katsuaki Watanabe, has recognised the difficulty in participating in a market gripped by economic crisis, such to oblige management to focus on new strategies to reduce costs.

All in all, the “black hole” of the United States hasn’t overshadowed advances in other countries, especially emerging ones: in China there has been an increase of 20 percent, while in the Middle East and South Africa growth has skyrocketed.

Via | Omniauto

Continue reading: Toyota: will 2008 be another bad year in the US?