BMW says Mini model to break even earlier than expected

FRANKFURT, Jan 11 (AFP) - German luxury car maker BMW believes its popular Mini cars would break even earlier than expected, the auto giant's chief financial officer Stefan Krause said in a newspaper interview released Tuesday.
"There is a good chance that the first model cycle of the Mini will pay for all of its development costs," Krause told the business daily Handelsblatt in remarks released ahead of publication on Wednesday.
Previously, BMW had not been expecting the Mini to break even before 2007 at the earliest when the second cycle of models is launched.

01/11/2005 15:17 GMT - AFP