Cadillac off to a slow start in Europe
Cadillacs attempt to break into Europes luxury car market has hit a bump in the road after the first Swedish-built car from General Motors flagship brand missed sales targets.
Cadillac is reviewing its European marketing strategy after just 500 of the new BLS saloons – the first Cadillacs not sold in the US – were sold in the first two months it was available. Overall Cadillac sales in Europe remain well behind those of MG Rover, the British carmaker that went out of business more than a year ago.
It is slower than we expected, said Cadillac Europe, the regional distributor owned by Dutch car dealers Kroymans. But we are pleased with the attention and the positive reception of the car.
Europe has been at the forefront of efforts by Cadillac to make its brand – synonymous for many in Europe with tail-fins and pink 1960s land-yachts – global.
More : msnbc.msn.com
Related Travel Information
Europe slow to offer pneumococcal vaccine
Scientists in Paris say some European nations have been slow to add the infant pneumococcal vaccine to its national programs despite good results elsewhere.
Several European nations still only vaccinate selected at-risk groups against invasive pneumococcal diseases, or IPD, despite growing evidence that universal vaccination of infants and young children reduces their risk and also provides added indirect 'herd' protection for other unvaccinated members of the community, said the French study`s lead author, Dr. Mark Fletcher.
Children in high risk groups include those with underlying medical conditions, such as sickle cell disease, HIV or diabetes.
Fletcher, director of
Europe: Pessimists cast doubt on outlook for profits
AMSTERDAM European stocks on Tuesday fell the most since November on speculation that earnings prospects did not justify the rally at the start of 2006.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group led a drop by metal producers, the best performers last year, after Alcoa in the United States reported decreasing profit.
Insurers slid as Merrill Lynch cut its recommendation on the British giants Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group and Prudential, saying new domestic business would slow.
Marks & Spencer Group slipped as the retailer's chief executive said rising costs would constrain earnings.
Europe lags on global deals
BRUCE WASSERSTEIN, chief executive of Lazard and one of Wall Streets most influential figures, gave warning that many European companies have missed out on globalisation so far because they have been too slow to catch on to the potential for striking deals in emerging markets such as China, India and Latin America.
In an exclusive interview with The Times, Mr Wasserstein said that striking international business deals is crucial to the survival of companies in the West.
If you are running a business in the UK, for you not to be thinking of the US, or
Richards cant wait to start Stones Europe tour
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said he could not wait to get back on stage on Tuesday after recovering from a head injury that had forced the band to delay the European leg of their world tour.
Everythings cool, the 62-year-old told a news conference on the eve of the first concert of the European leg.
The aging rock band, revered for such classics as Start Me Up and Jumpin Jack Flash, were supposed to begin the European leg with a show in Barcelona in May.
But they pushed back the date to
GM expects Europe market share growth in 2006
General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said Tuesday it expected an increase in its European market share this year and flagged plans to increase sales in higher-margin areas.
"We are certainly (looking) for share growth in Cadillac," the automaker's Europe chief, Carl-Peter Forster told reporters at the Geneva auto show.
"Saab could grow or at least maintain its share...Chevrolet most probably is up for another year of strong growth. Put it all together, most probably we will grow share," Forster said.
Chevrolet is launching two new products, including the Captiva SUV, this year in Europe.
The
