Fiat on Monday said it aimed to post a higher profit this year, and was considering whether to raise the target in the second or third quarter.
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“All the targets fixed for 2008 are confirmed,” chief executive Sergio Marchionne told Reuters after the annual shareholders meeting.
“I don’t have the slightest intention of raising targets in the first quarter,” he said. “We’ll see what we can do in the second and third quarters.”
Marchionne reportedly said the targets were based on the view that turmoil in financial markets would have a limited impact on the economy, adding that there was “little likelihood” of a big drop in consumer spending as a result of it.
If spending were to drop, “Fiat thinks it can fully sustain the financial impact … even if it means a reduction in operating performance and margins,” he told the news agency.
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By GlobalDataReuters noted that Fiat is aiming for a higher trading profit of up to EUR3.6bn (US$5.68bn) this year from EUR3.23bnn euros in 2007.
Although some car makers including PSA Peugeot-Citroen have forecast a potential downturn in European sales in 2008, others such as Renault have been more upbeat, the report added.
For the first quarter, Marchionne said results – due out on 24 April – were in line with expectations.
Marchionne also told Reuters new car sales figures for March in Italy were “pretty sad” even though business in general was going well.
Orders for the new Cinquecento (500) had topped 182,000, nearing this year’s target of up to 190,000, he said.
Marchionne also confirmed the 2008 sales target of 120,000 units for the Bravo, Fiat’s competitor to Volkswagen’s Golf.
By 2010, Fiat will be coming out with a sports utility vehicle and a premium car, he told Reuters.
Following Tata’s purchase of the Jaguar and Land Rover premium brands, Fiat was ready to discuss a possible co-operation with its India partner, the report added.
