By Gilles Castonguay
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Ferrari's sales could suffer next year if the U.S. economy slows down as a result of the recent turbulence in financial markets, the general manager of the Italian luxury sports car maker said on Monday.
But it would likely suffer less from the dollar's weakness against the euro because the maker of such cars as the Scaglietti and the 599 GTB Fiorano had hedged itself, Amedeo Felisa told the Reuters Auto Summit in Frankfurt.
"Until now it is a tough condition but we are still managing to make money," he said. "We can reduce the effect of a depreciation of the dollar."
Ferrari had hedged 80 percent of its exposure to the dollar for 2008 and about a third for 2009, he said.
About 40 percent of its sales are tied to the dollar.
BAD FORM
At the Reuters Auto Summit in Detroit, top car industry investors gave a grim forecast for the U.S. market next year, with one of them predicting a possible slump in sales to levels not seen in 15 years.
The United States is Ferrari's single biggest market. Continued...
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