WORLDWIDE SALES - VW COMMERCIAL - The decline in sales has started with both passenger & Commercial down.

• Sales of the Brand remains at the level as last year
• T-series achieves growth of 3.1 per cent

Up to the end of September 2015, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 321,300 urban delivery vans, Transporters and pick-ups, all over the world. The brand's deliveries therefore continue to be at the level of the previous year (January to September 2014: 324,800, -1.1 per cent).

In the West European markets deliveries fell by 0.2 per cent to 212,500 deliveries (213,000). In Germany deliveries fell by 5.6 per cent to 81,000 vehicles (85,800). There was once again a clear growth in sales in the United Kingdom with an increase of 13.1 per cent to 38,500 vehicles (34,050). In Spain, the brand's sales increased by 8.5 per cent to 7,200 deliveries (6,600).

In Eastern Europe deliveries fell by 21.2 per cent to 21,800 vehicles (27,600). In the Middle East 26,000 vehicles were delivered, 43.8 per cent more than the previous year (18,100). In Mexico, deliveries rose by 8.9 per cent to 4,800 vehicles (4,400).

In South America Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 27,700 vehicles (30,000; -7.7 per cent). The brand's deliveries in Brazil fell by 34.2 per cent to 9,100 vehicles (13,900). 14,500 vehicles were delivered on the Argentinian market, an increase of 13.0 per cent (12,850).

Worldwide: Caddy deliveries fell by 4.6 per cent to 104,500 vehicles (109,600). The T-series saw growth of 3.1 per cent to 125,100 deliveries (121,400). Amarok sales fell by 2.5 per cent to 55,600 vehicles (57,000). Crafter deliveries were up by 2.5 per cent to 36,100 vehicles (35,200).

Citroen to demolish the competition in the WTCC with the new C-Elysée

• After an intense preparation programme, Citroën Racing will begin its maiden FIA World Touring Car Championship campaign in Morocco, with the C-Elysée WTCC making its racing debut
• Yvan Muller, Sébastien Loeb and José-Maria López will all be in action for Citroën at the opening round
• World Champion Muller comes with a wealth of WTCC experience, but Marrakech will be a first for Loeb and López

After nine months of preparation and over 10,000 km of testing, the Citroën Racing team is preparing to begin its debut season in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).

The season gets underway in Morocco, at the Circuit International Automobile Moulay El Hassan, also known as the Marrakech street circuit.  It’s a busy start to the 2014 season, with the first four rounds of this year’s competition taking place over just five weeks.  

Three Citroën C-Elysée WTCCs will be taking part in the season opener; Yvan Muller (n°1), Sébastien Loeb (n°9) and José-María López (n°37) will all be in action in Morocco.

Since the C-Elysée WTCC’s very first outing on 10 July 2013, Citroën Racing has undertaken an intense development programme with its four drivers: Sébastien Loeb, Yvan Muller, José-María López and Ma Qinq Hua.

Over the last few days, the team has stepped up its efforts even further in the workshops of its technical centre in Versailles. After being assembled, the first three racing cars were put through a “dress rehearsal” at the Magny-Cours circuit to iron out any glitches.

During this dummy run, Citroën Racing’s Managing Director, Yves Matton, took the opportunity to look back at what the team had achieved: “Starting a season is one thing, but starting your first season in a new discipline is something else entirely. Everything is new to us: the cars, of course, but also the equipment, the methods, the regulations, the race strategy… Every member of Citroën Racing has invested a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm to ensure that we are ready when the time comes.

“Of course, we would have liked to have had a few more days to prepare, but we can’t wait to get to Marrakech.

It will be the culmination of over a year’s work. Our challenge now is to develop the essential reflexes we need in order to be strong performers in WTCC. We will be looking closely at our first times to see where we stand in relation to the competition.”

A BIG CHALLENGE TO START THE SEASON

Used exclusively by the WTCC since 2009, the Moulay El Hassan circuit takes in the wide boulevards on the outskirts of Marrakech. At first glance, the circuit appears relatively straightforward, consisting mainly of straight sections, punctuated by chicanes.  

“Appearances can be deceptive,” says Yvan Muller, the only Citroën Racing driver to have raced in Morocco before. “In reality, it’s a very difficult circuit. Because it’s not a permanent track, the surface is very slippery at the start of a meeting. The key to a fast lap lies in how you tackle the rumble strips. You have to climb over them, or sometimes jump them, while making sure not to end up in the wall, of course! Obviously, we’ve worked on this in testing, but we will have to wait to be out on the track to get a clearer idea of what to do.”

With a very busy start to the season in prospect, the quadruple World Champion also thinks that starting the WTCC adventure on a street circuit will be particularly challenging: “Only a week after Marrakech, we’ll be at Paul Ricard for the second round. Even if all goes well, the mechanics won’t have a lot of time to get the cars ready. If there’s a lot of damage, things will be even tougher for them. That adds a little extra pressure.”

A BAPTISM OF FIRE FOR SEB AND PECHITO

Marrakech will be a first for Sébastien Loeb and José-María López. “Generally, I’m quite comfortable on street circuits, like Pau, Baku or Monaco,” says Seb, “but I haven’t had time to get to know Marrakech… and that won’t be the only new thing I have to get to grips with in the next few days! Even after a full season in GT, I’m still dreading the starts. It’s often very tricky when you’re trying to avoid dropping places on the first few corners.

“At the moment, the one thing I am sure about is the car, the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC. I know that we have done some good work on it and I’ve got a good feeling at the wheel. We may have got a head start on the competition in terms of development, but we also have less room for improvement than the teams that have only started their testing in the last few weeks. Like everyone, I’m feeling really motivated for the start of the season.”

“Testing is a really interesting part of our preparation, but I am glad to be going into the first meeting,” says Pechito (José-Maria López). We’ll get out on the track with our rivals and finally see if the work we have done pays off. I’ve already raced on quite a few street circuits – we’ve got a few in Argentina. It’s not my favourite style of race, but I think it’s a really positive thing to bring motorsport closer to the people.

“The circuit seems quite unusual, with high-speed chicanes and steep rumble strips, but we’ll see exactly what it’s like when we come to drive on it. The start of a season is always a special time, and this excitement is shared by the whole team. We are competitors, and we all want to make a good start and leave Marrakech in a good position in the championship!”

THE PROGRAMME

The WTCC cars will start their weekend with half an hour of free practice on Friday at 1.30 p.m. Two further practice sessions will be held on Saturday, at 9.00 a.m. and 11.15 a.m., to help the teams prepare for qualifying at 3 p.m. Like in Formula One, the crucial qualifying runs will take place in three stages. After an initial 20-minute session, Q1, the 12 fastest drivers will proceed to Q2. They will then have just 10 minutes to get themselves into the top five and win a place in Q3. In this last run, each driver has just one flying lap to try and clock the best time. The drivers who take part in Q3 receive five, four, three, two and one points towards their World Championship tally.

On the Sunday, race one (14 laps) will get underway at 4.20 p.m. The teams will then have just 15 minutes ‘repair time’ to prepare and/or repair their cars before the second race, which starts at 5.25 p.m., with the top ten qualifiers lining up in reverse order on the grid. Points are awarded to the top ten drivers in each race, as per the usual FIA scale.   

Ferrari posts significant gains at the nine month period.

• Revenues: 1.711 million euro (+6.7%)
• Trading profit:  264.2 million euro (+20.2%)
• Net profit: 178.8 million euro (+23%)
• EBITDA: 454 million euro (+15%)
• Record industrial net cash position: 1.350 million euro
• Homologated cars delivered:  5,264 in line with 2012
• A new company is being created to manage brand-related activities

The Ferrari S.p.A. Board of Directors met today under the chairmanship of Luca di Montezemolo to examine the financial results for the first nine months of 2013.

Ferrari’s strategic decision announced last May - to reduce volumes and maintain exclusivity while also increasing revenues - has already begun to yield its first results.  While deliveries to the dealership network have remained largely unchanged (5,264, three less compared to the first nine months of 2012), revenues have increased by 6.7 per cent to 1.711 million euro.

Trading profit jumped by over 20 per cent to 264.2 million euro as did net profit to 178.8 million euro (+23 per cent).

The company’s industrial net cash position has reached new historic record level and, on September 30th, stood at 1.350 million euro, despite an on-going commitment to heavy investment in product development which has resulted in the company’s most complete and innovative range ever, as demonstrated by the models launched in the first nine months of the year: LaFerrari, the first hybrid which represents the ultimate expression of technological innovation, performance and futuristic styling, and the 458 Speciale, an extreme V8-engined berlinetta with Ferrari-patented electronic dynamics controls and aerodynamics.

Ferrari’s industrial net cash flow for the period was 281 million euro.

These results are the fruit of an excellent product mix (12-cylinders accounted for 25 per cent of sales thanks to the consistent success of FF and higher F12berlinetta deliveries), an increasing contribution from all the services for customers, such as the Atelier and Tailor Made personalisation programmes, restoration of classic cars, along with continuing, significant turnover from Brand activities.

Markets

Sales continue to grow (+8 per cent) in the USA and Canada to 1627 cars, and it is foreseen that deliveries will increase moderately up until the end of 2013 to avoid excessively long waiting lists.

In Europe, the UK (+15 per cent, 580 cars delivered) is yielding very gratifying results, thanks in part to the arrival of the right-hand drive F12berlinetta. Deliveries to Germany were down by 3 per cent (520 cars) in line with the plan announced earlier this year. Italy remains a marginal market due to restrictive fiscal policies, and now accounts for less than 3 per cent of total sales with just 145 cars delivered to dealerships.

Sales were excellent in the Middle East (+40 per cent, 382 cars) and Japan  (+17 per cent, 250), while Greater China (People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) is very much a two-sided coin.  Deliveries to end clients are on the up but deliveries to the network are falling: in fact, the latter have been reduced by 139 to 427 cars. This decision was influenced by two factors: the need to main the brand’s exclusivity on traditional markets, such as Hong Kong, and to take a more cautious position on the People’s Republic of China where rises in taxes on luxury goods may be in the offing.

“I am very satisfied with the results for the first nine months of 2013,” declared Luca di Montezemolo. “They are the fruit of our constant focus on exclusivity, which guarantees significant returns for our shareholders as well as growing numbers of services for clients. The revenues from personalisation programmes and Ferrari Classiche’s activities ably demonstrate this fact and the latter will receive an additional boost when a dedicated centre for collectors opens in the US. We have also maintained our high level of investment in product development and employment: in fact, this year we have already taken on 200 new staff.”

Brand

The Board of Directors also sanctioned an important decision with regard to our Brand-related activities (licensing, franchising retail, e-commerce) which, because of their specific nature, require a different management approach to car manufacturing. As a result, a New Co, 100 per cent controlled by Ferrari, will be set up to deal with all of these activities and guarantee improved, more dedicated operations management.

In the meantime, our Brand activities as a whole continue to deliver positive results. Retail revenues have increased by 17 per cent while licencing is up 3 per cent, thanks to important new partnerships with Electronic Arts and Codemasters, who now flank the well-established licence-holder Microsoft, strengthening the company’s presence in the Electronics & Multimedia sector

Lastly, e-commerce revenues rose by 18 per cent as the Prancing Horse continues to expand its presence on social networks with almost 13 million “likes” for Ferrari’s official pages.