In stark contrast with its ailing Detroit rivals, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group boosted its third-quarter profit 43 percent to $374 million after increasing auto sales sharply.
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The biggest contributor to DaimlerChrysler's bottom line was its commercial vehicles division -- the world's largest heavy-truck manufacturer -- which earned $600 million in the third quarter.

The Mercedes Car Group, which includes the Maybach ultra-luxury sedan and Smart minicar business, reported a 43 percent rise in operating profit to $526 million, reflecting stronger sales and cost cuts.

For the first nine months of the year, however, Mercedes was in the red with a $610 million loss, reducing DaimlerChrysler's nine-month profit 17 percent to $5 billion.
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Last week, GM reported a $1.6 billion loss, its biggest quarterly loss in 13 years. GM's share of the U.S. market has dropped 1.1 percentage points, to 26.8 percent, over the past year, and it has racked up $4.1 billion in losses in North America in the first nine months of the year.

Ford, which is also having trouble in its home market, lost $284 million in the third quarter.

"The answer to why they (Chrysler) are profitable, and Ford and GM are not, is product. They've actually gained market share," said auto analyst David Healy at Burnham Securities. "There isn't a huge difference in quality or cost of production for Chrysler."



http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...A01-361733.htm