Responding to its 57% drop in 2003 net profits, Volkswagen is due to detail plans for massive cost savings of €4bn over two years at a 9 March news conference – news that pushed its share price up today.

Volkswagen CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder says the ForMotion plan will target increased turnover and the maintainence of new model launch schedules, as well as reductions in costs and investments. The programme in part recognises the failure of VW's principal markets to recover as expected, and a lack of positive indications of currency exchange cost reductions in the short term.

Meanwhile, VW has announced the planned closure over the next two years of five of its 12 aftermarket parts distribution depots in Germany, with the transfer of most of some 1,000 employees to other parts of VW's operations.