|
Mercedes storms ahead
|
 |
September 15, 1999: 6:51 a.m. ET
DaimlerChrysler sales surge, accelerating away from rivals
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - DaimlerChrysler Wednesday said vehicle sales rose 12 percent in the first eight months of the year and claimed to be accelerating away from the rest of the industry.
Through August, the big automaker said it sold more than 2.8 million vehicles, a rise of 8 percent on the same period last year, generating revenues of $68.9 billion, an increase of 12 percent from a year earlier.
"We are growing significantly faster than the industry as a whole," Joint Chairmen Jürgen Schrempp and Bob Eaton said in a statement.
Sales at all of DaimlerChrysler jumped 13 percent to $101.2 billion during that period, making the company's executives optimistic enough to raise their forecast of full-year revenue to $155 billion from the previous forecast of $148 billion.
The numbers were much as analysts had predicted, and DaimlerChrysler (FDCX) stock eased 1.3 percent to 71.40 euros ($74.26) in Frankfurt Wednesday.
The upscale Mercedes-Benz passenger car unit proved the shining star so far this year. Including the Smart urban runabout vehicle, unit sales grew by 20 percent and DaimlerChrysler predicted it will sell more than 1 million vehicles under these brand names for the first time in 1999.
Vehicles sold under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Plymouth names increased 4 percent in the period, while their revenue contribution rose 10 percent to $43.4 billion.
Separately, the automaker's contract with the United Auto Workers union in the United States was extended past a midnight deadline Tuesday. The two sides were expected to keep talking Wednesday.
|
|
|
|
|
|
DaimlerChrysler
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
