JANUARY 8, 2004

Montezemolo worries about the US dollar

Speaking at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo has said that Ferrari is suffering because it is not getting as much money as it used to on the cars it sells in the United States because of the weakness of the US dollar against the Euro. The US is Ferrari's largest market, accounting around one third of the cars sold. This week the US dollar is trading at $1.25 to the Euro compared to $1.00 a year ago.

Montezemolo also said that the Formula 1 team is suffering loss of income because its sponsorship deals were negotiated in dollars and it has to pay out in Euros. Montezemolo said that he would wait a couple of months before deciding whether to take any action.

The weak dollar is also understood to be hitting other car companies which export to the United States with BMW and Porsche also suffering.

Other teams which are suffering are those with big sponsorship deals for US corporations, notably Williams (which is sponsored by Hewlett Packard and Budweiser).