JANUARY 9, 2004

Premier Automotive Group goes into profit

Ford's Premier Automotive Group - comprising Land Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Volvo - is reported to have returned a profit for the first time since it was formed in the late 1990s. PAG losses in 2002 were just short of $900million, but it has reported a profit of over $100 million for 2003, partly thanks to the success of the new Jaguar XJ. Jaguar announced back in September that it had already beaten its previous annual record for sales with around half the cars going to the United States. The Jaguar Racing programme is aimed at increasing the image of the company but also aims to sell more cars in the markets where Jaguar sales need to built up, notably in Europe, where the company sells only around 20% of its cars; in Asia and in Australia.