VW profits defy slowdown

German car maker Volkswagen has risen above the economic slowdown with an increase in profits for the third quarter, thanks to booming sales in emerging markets.  ┬á Net profit from July to September rose 28 percent to 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion), with increased demand in China, Russia and India helping to offset slowing sales in Europe and the US. ┬á┬á VW says it continues to believe that its deliveries, sales and profits will exceed last year's levels in spite of the global economic slowdown and financial crisis. ┬á┬á "We are confirming our forecast for 2008, despite the dramatic deterioration in global economic conditions and the automotive industry environment in recent months," said VW's chief financial officer Hans Dieter Poetsch.┬á┬á VW claims its diverse range of brands has given it a competitive advantage with Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Skoda and Seat in its portfolio.┬á┬á VW itself is about to be taken over by Porsche, however, and its shares have seen some bizarre fluctuations while this story was breaking. ┬á┬á Porsche announced last Sunday that it had options to take its ownership of VW up to almost 75 percent, whereupon the lack of available VW shares for trading on the open market sent the share price soaring almost 350 percent by Tuesday, making VW briefly the most valuable company in the world by market capitalization. ┬á┬á Other news fresh from VW is that it is considering a reversal of a decision made earlier this year not to bring its relaunched Scirocco sports coup├® to the US.┬á┬á The Scirocco returned to Europe with great acclaim in August after a 16 year gap, but VW had announced in March that it would not be sold in the US where it might damage sales of the Golf GTI. ┬á┬á The strong euro, which makes vehicles produced in Europe more expensive in the United States, also was a factor. ┬á┬á Now that the dollar has strengthened against the euro, a VW spokesman said the company is considering selling a limited edition of the Scirocco in the US with more horsepower and a higher price tag than the GTI, to satisfy enthusiasts. ┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *