DaimlerChrysler expects global demand for commercial vehicles to remain high this year but anticipates “significantly lower market volume” in 2007, Dow Jones reported.
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Cyclical weakening of the major markets for commercial vehicles and stricter emission regulations in the US and Japan will be the main causes of the slowdown, the company reportedly said.
2006 unit sales of commercial vehicles are seen remaining at about last year’s level. A drop is anticipated for 2007 with the possibility of a recovery the following year.
“We intend to make the commercial vehicles business less dependent on cyclical market fluctuations in the future as a result of the Global Excellence optimisation program, so that sustained positive earnings can be achieved also under difficult market conditions,” the company said in its annual report, according to Dow Jones.
The outlook is based on the company’s operative planning until 2008.
DaimlerChrysler reportedly expects growth in global demand for automobiles to be about the same as in 2005, while modest growth is anticipated for Japan as a result of further improvements in economic conditions.
For the Mercedes Car Group, 2006 unit sales are seen remaining at a similar level as last year, while sales should increase in 2007 and 2008.
In the coming years, DaimlerChrysler sees most of the growth in worldwide demand for vehicles coming from the emerging markets of Asia and South America and increasingly from Central and Eastern Europe, Dow Jones noted.
