DaimlerChrysler has enjoyed strong sales

DaimlerChrysler shares closed up almost 2% after a 9% rise in global sales, and profits which - excluding a one-off sale last year - showed healthy gains.

Shares in French carmaker Renault rose almost 1% in Paris, despite a smaller-than-expected rise in third quarter sales.

Renault said it expected its new Clio model to boost future sales.

Meanwhile, Fiat's narrow trading loss led analysts to speculate that the debt ridden Italian firm could be in the black by the end of the year.

Fiat shares closed down 0.6% in Milan, having earlier gained as much as 2.8%.

Mercedes turnaround

At 755m euros ($913m; �513m), German-US group DaimlerChrysler's net profit for the three months to September was in fact down 21% on the same period a year ago.

But that number had been flattered by the sale of a stake in South Korea's Hyundai Motor.

More importantly, the 2005 figure looked healthy in comparison to the red ink at US rivals General Motors and Ford, with DaimlerChrysler's US profits up almost 50% to 310m euros.

Group-wide revenues were up 9% to 28.2bn euros.

Can Fiat's new Punto help save the company?

And at the luxury Mercedes-Benz marque, where quality problems and the strength of the euro have recently caused trouble, trading profits rose 43% to 436m euros from a year earlier,

"Daimler's various divisions are finally firing on all cylinders, and that will be even more the case come 2006," said HVB analyst Georg Stuerzer.

Better days for Fiat?

In Italy, meanwhile, the small size of the car-related losses at Fiat - which also makes agricultural and industrial machinery - surprised analysts.

After losing 282m euros in the third quarter of 2004, the car firm made a loss of just 85m euros in the same quarter this year.

And for the group as a whole, the quarter ended with an 818m euro profit thanks to the sale of a stake in holding company Edison and the conversion of 3bn euros of debt into shares by its creditor banks.

"The probability of a profit (for the car unit) in the fourth quarter is now very high," said Philippe Houchois, an analyst at JP Morgan.

The firm's cars have had a torrid time in recent years, as Italian consumers turned to foreign marques and exports flagged - sending its debt skywards.