Ferrari Predicts Record Sales This Year

Fiat SpA's Ferrari supercar unit expects its sales in 2012 to surpass the record-high 7,200 vehicles it delivered last year, Automotive News Europe reports.

Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo tells the newspaper the brand also aims this year to top its record €321 million operating profit in 2011 despite Europe's recession and shaky economies elsewhere.

The company sold nearly 3,700 cars in the first half of this year, up 7% from a year earlier. Ferrari says sales of models powered by V-12 engines soared by two-thirds. Operating income rose 13% to €152 million in the January-June period.