VW Commercial Vehicles business registers 2003 loss

Volkswagen's commercial vehicles subsidiary recorded a €164m operating loss last year, following a 4.9% drop in sales volume to 224, 975 units, the effect of model change investments and the restructuring of production at Hannover and Poznan.

Turnover rose slightly, by 1.2% to €4.55bn, thanks in part to the increased appeal of VW's revamped Multivan. The cost of investment rose 18% - to €675m - compared to 2002.

VW Commercial Vehicles expects increased sales this year from the new Transporter and the launch of the replacement Caddy, while a new LT, the Microbus and a new generation truck will help boost volumes over the next two years. The run-out Transporter and the new Caddy are both to be added to VW's models built in China next year.