The CEO of MAN has said he expects the current economic crisis to last up to two and a half years and has warned that the German group would be cutting costs to maintain its financial targets.
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Speaking to journalists in Munich, Hakan Samuelsson said the German truck maker was anticipating a 30% decline in production in 2009.
“It would be wrong to assume that this economic downturn is short-term in nature and will be over in only six months,” he warned.
Samuelsson added that the company would be looking to cut costs in its truck division in order to preserve its margin targets.
The company is planning to shut down production at its various truck assembly plants in Germany for 40-50 days to adjust output to demand.
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By GlobalDataSamuelsson did, however, reaffirmed the group’s 2008 targets for an operating margin of just below 12% and added there were no plans to lay off any permanent members of staff.
In September, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge said it was expecting a record year in 2008, despite the growing international financial crisis. Chairman Anton Weinmann told Automobilwoche the truck division had a good chance of breaching the 100,000-unit sales mark for the first time this year.
