Word: bmw
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...mostly fear that the city, already poor and sharply segregated, is on a downward spiral. Those who pick the bones of disaster were out in force. White gangs smashed a Pakistani-owned restaurant and service station. TV crews roamed the city seeking footage of more trouble. At Lister Park BMW, looted and charred, portable toilets arrived for the demolition crew. Harry Taylor, the general manager, wouldn't say whether they would rebuild, but didn't sound optimistic. "We had some fantastic years here," he said, in the tone of a man about to retire. Sajaad Waris isn't going anywhere...
...Garel Rhys, director of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at the Cardiff Business School, is a little more positive, saying that the Mini's low-volume production is offset by BMW's positioning of it in the upper end of the mini market, against the likes of the Volkswagen Polo and the Peugeot 206, where margins are higher, around 5% to 6%, compared to about 3% in the Mini's previous sales bracket. Still, Rhys notes, "small cars mean small profits...
...Mini general manager Trevor Houghton-Berry insists that not only will the Mini make money in its own right at current production levels, its miserly fuel consumption (15.3 km per liter) will also help BMW meet European 2008 emission standards by taking pressure off the company's larger, more gas-hungry models. "Taken in that context, the Mini plays an important part in the finance strategy of the group," Houghton-Berry says...
...While BMW says it wants this car to be seen as a fun drive, it doesn't want ownership of the Mini to be considered a fashion statement...
...financial community reacted with skepticism last May when, after six years of losses totalling $1.24 billion, BMW sold the British automaker Rover to four businessmen. Even the new owner's chosen name - the Phoenix Consortium - seemed little more than wishful thinking for a company that hadn't turned a profit since 1994. But now the trimmed-down, reconfigured Rover is about to announce some surprising financial details: losses were cut to $424 million in the last fiscal year, and management expects to halve them this year en route to breaking even in 2002. Finally, some grudging respect is coming Phoenix...