This news that apple could be moving into the auto space along with google . These are some big tech players aiming to shake up the Auto Industry. And they have big piles of cash. On those two fronts, the Tech Companies are in a good position. Where theyre going to their parts from, what kind of engines they were built . He said that they can learn a lot because the cars themselves are starting to become more technology focused. They all have wifi and have an integrated driving experience. But the key depends on how many engines the Tech Companies intend to produce. If they just go with electric, they could get there a lot faster. If they try to compete with combustion engines, it will be a harder road to travel. That the soft the passat won the car of the year. Manus disclaimer, i dont drive a car. Mark we will be back there in a couple of minutes. He is bmws sales chief ian robertson. Manus Mark Zuckerberg stole the show at the Worlds Largest mobile conference last night. He took to the stage to talk about facebooks Global Initiative to talk about Internet Connectivity worldwide. Caroline hyde is there. I am hearing a variety of reports of people saying that it wasnt as inspiring as some had thought. What was your take . Caroline i think, what was fascinating was his overall confidence being exuded yesterday. He is willing to work with some of his Key Competitors to fulfill his goal of the internet for all to the two thirds of the world that arent on the internet so far. They arent in and access area arent in an accessible area. What many got excited about was the fact that he is willing to really push forward with google. Have a listen. Zuckerberg one of the apps that we lost with was Google Search we launched with was Google Search, because it is an important piece of functionality that people want across the world. Caroline many people see this as a desire to do good. For people to be informed in latin america. Google, wikipedia, some other Key Competitors in the internet space are useful. But that seemed to be one thing that was really focused on. Also focused on was the tension on the stage with the awkward relationship facebook has with Telecom Operators. Telecom operators find facebook as frustrating because they provide access to messaging and maybe even phone calls. The operators now cant get as much revenue in because facebook and whatsapp provide them for free over the internet. This is why he is really trying to focus on what the operators are doing. What is important are the cables that are being put in the ground by these operators he is working with. Manus he encouraged all the mobile operators to join him in bringing the internet to the world. A lot didnt join up and felt threatened. What are executives telling you on the ground . Caroline we were just speaking with a key telecom chief executive yesterday and he was focusing on the fact that he is angry and passionate, he wants facebook and google. He wants them to be regulated as Telecom Providers are. He was not saying that they have to have more regulation, but perhaps the Telecom Providers should have less regulation in europe. He was saying, give us a level playing field. Manus thanks, caroline. Anna we will be taking to twitter on everything that comes out. Follow us there. markbartontv annaedwardsnews and manuscranny. Mark up next, we will bring you more from the geneva auto show including an interview with bmws head of sales. Anna 12 minutes past 6 a. M. Here in london. Lets get back to the Geneva Motor Show where hans nichols is joined by the bmw chief of sales. Hans i am joined by ian robertson. I want to ask you right away about that minivan behind us. Canning be at cant a bmw be a minivan. Robertson it is a very and we is a very space friendly vehicle. For the first time in this segment you will be able to get fourwheeldrive. Hans you arent concerned that you will lose your ultimate driving machine by selling a minivan . Robertson we are looking to bring new people into the brand. We launched the smaller version of this vehicle and about 75 to 80 of the people who bought it have never bought a bmw. Ultimately, those people will probably progress into other uws in the family. Other bmws in the family. Hans do you need to find new customers . Robertson we were comfortably number one last year. We expect to grow our sales this year. The brand is a very Broad Spectrum now. From the one hand, you have broadspectrum vehicles and then you have each vehicles you have niche vehicles. This car incorporates a new technology of water injection into the engine. I think our appeal is there and we will confidently move forward. Hans are you going to come in first in 2015 . Robertson we intend to maintain our position as the leading provider of quality automobiles. Hans talk to me about russia. Do you see a turning around do you see its turning around . Robertson i think the politicians have to answer that question. We did see a drop in the Fourth Quarter of last year. For the moment the price hasnt dropped but maybe that is because the pricing hasnt moved as fast as the ruble has dropped. I hope there is a political solution and i think the market can turn relatively quickly. It is a very large market on the worldwide position and very close to europe. Hans elsewhere in the states you are going to have some competition very soon, apple and google. Competition in munich . Robertson we never underestimate any new competition, whether traditional players or new players. But from our position, we like to develop our own technology and our own niches that shape the future as to where the Automobile Industry is going. To put that in a nutshell, i tend to look where we are going. More competition keeps this industry healthy. Hans how long will it take them, give me a prediction . Robertson the Entry Barriers that may have been more substantial in the past are now slightly lower. But the complexity of the car industry is still there. New competition doesnt particularly bother us. In some ways it is an advantage. Hans tell me about the m135. Robertson it has a new engine lineup. If you look at the new m1356 vehicles on the market, great success. The coupe version regularly receives five stars in its performance. It is a car that we brought into the market some 10 years ago and we have sold over 2 million of them in that. One that brings new customers into the brand and is very much a stepping stone into the bmw family. Hans you produce many you produce mini and rollsroyce in the u. K. What happens if they leave the eu. Robertson we hope they stay within the european union. We think it is it it is an advantage for the u. K. And for europe. Hans one final question on the minivan. What is the customer saying . Are there any drawbacks . Robertson it is front architecture, very space friendly, and you can get seven seats. You have three children, maybe you have some scope for extras. Hans then i can stop calling it a minivan. All day i heard a little bit of concern about russia and a little bit of optimism that voters in the u. K. Will make the right choice. With that anna, i will send that back to you. Anna thank you very much hands thank you very much hans. Bmw making it very clear that they want the u. K. To stay in europe. Mark breaking news from hans nichols, he does have the capacity to have two more children in an automobile cents. The reserve bank of australia has held its overnight cash rates at 2. 25 . The banks governor Glenn Stevens is concerned that a low rate may fuel a rampant Real Estate Market in sydney. The nasdaq has closed at the highest mark in 15 years. It is within 1 of its alltime high. It was helped by fast Profit Growth by apple and intel. There is concern that greece may need a third bailout within months. Markets may not be prepared to lend to athens when the Current Program comes to an end all stop the government comes to an end. The government would have to meet the current guidelines. From sydney, when we return. Manus were going to go to break. He is hot for cars he is hungry for cars. Anna welcome back to countdown. The reserve bank of australia unexpectedly kept its Interest Rate unchanged today. It was unclear whether they would cut or not, but in the end, they decided to stay put at this record low at 2. 25 . The dollar spiked by about 1 which is pretty much exactly the opposite of what the rba will be trying to achieve here. In the end, they decided that they would wait and see what the impact of the february cut was. They are trying to get the economy back growing and to try and put a lid on unemployment which has been creeping up and sits around 6. 4 . The decision to stay put also avoids throwing gasoline on the already redhot Australian Property market, particularly in sydney and melbourne. It also avoids knocking confidence. Had they cut again, it would have sent a pretty dire warning about the state of the australian economy. It shows that they are reasonably happy about the way things are at the moment. They said it was decision that further easing may be appropriate. Many of the economists surveyed by bloomberg said they agree. Most think we will get another cut by may and one thought we would get down to 1. 5 by the third quarter. Paul allen, bloomberg in sydney. Mark join the conversation on twitter. It should be trending. The nasdaq crossing 5000 for the first time in 15 years. Where were you in march, 2000 . Anna i must have been having a good time because i cant remember. I have been reading an interesting story on quantitative easing. This week, we are looking ahead to what the ecb will say or not say about qe. We had a great story on bloomberg this morning about how long qe will last. Manus i think that is something that hasnt really anna putting down there estimates on the inflation side because of oil prices. We could see some of those cpi forecasts being brought down. Manus portuguese Government Bond yields down for 14 consecutive days. Again, all of the periphery is really charging on. Mark what is incredible is that portugal is more creditworthy than the United States if you look at the bond markets. Bill gross, from janus, says essentially that the fed needs to raise Interest Rates because the low bond yields are pushing investors into riskier assets. Manus it is all about whether it is creating bubbles. Coming up, heading back to geneva. We will be talking to opels chief executive. Manus you are watching countdown. Time to check in on the Foreign Exchange markets. Again, we have jpmorgan saying that rates will rise in june. This morning, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley said they are more likely to hold off. The chief economist at glusken said that the fed will remain patient and wait until next year. The dollar is down by an eighth. But this is one of the biggest oneday gains for the australian dollar. The Central Bank Left rates unchanged. What you have here is again the rba jawboning but having no impact. We need a lower dollar. The most accurate forecasters said that the rba will get to 1. 5 by the third quarter. Inflation will remain subdued. There is a real debate about whether you get to 1. 5 or 1. 75 . I want to bring you dollaryuan. The one the yeauan is add twoyear highs. Right now it is on the cusp of 2 . The view from the market is that there is a reserve requirement cut coming and the central bank could allow the bandwidth and tolerance of the yuan to move up to 3 . Anna thanks, manus. The funeral for russian opposition politician boris caps off Boris Nemtsov will be held today. Thousands of people rallied on sunday at a march in his memory. The israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu is expected to speak over concerns about Irans Nuclear program in front of the United States congress today. He was invited by Congress Without receiving president Barack Obamas notice. The office ubs plans to close its moscow office. They say it is based on a plan to streamline. Mark lets get back to hans nichols with the ceo of opel. Hans i am joined by Karlthomas Neumann the ceo of opel. We are going to unveil a car. You have the honors. This is the world premiere. Neumann this is our new entry. It is the smallest, entry model of opel. It is very important for us because it extends our portfolio to a lowcost entry. In germany, it will be 9500 euros. It has a new engine, 7500 horsepower and a three cylinder engine which is very efficient. A true opel. Hans give me your honest opinion on the color. Neumann our designers think it is a fancy colored that we have in other colors to if you dont like it. We have a black one over there which i like very much and a beautiful blue. Hans these are crucial for a strategy to become number two in the market, how is that coming . Neumann we have a car now that is an entrylevel. And we have lifestyle addins. We have the youngest and freshest cars in the industry. Hans and yet, how are you doing on market share . You didnt have a great year last year. Neumann the European Market grew only 1. 7 last year, but opel group three to 4 . It is the second year in a row that we have market share, so i think opel is starting off well. Hans when do you plan to return to profitability . Neumann we plan to return to profitability in 2016 and then grow from there. In 2022, we plan to make a profit of 5 . Hans central to that strategy is a vibrant market in russia. At what point you cut your ties . Neumann one issue in russia is the ruble situation. It is hard to make money in russia. We have a new management in russia. We went from three shifts in our factory in st. Petersburg to one shift. We could contain our losses in russia, but it is not the Growth Market perspective anymore. Hans do have to recalibrate any goals or timelines because of russia . Neumann no we are not giving up any goals. We are more successful in other markets so we are fighting to break even in 2016. Hans k tell us about any other new ones can you tell us about any other new ones . Neumann that is important for the brand to show that we are leaders. Another thing that is important is on star. It is a technology that we are introducing which is a conductivity technology. It has a concierge service, emergency call, a wifi hotspot in the car. And it connects the car to the internet. For the first time, we will offer this not just for luxury cars, but for every car. Hans that brings you my next question about apple and google may be entering the market. What do you think about that . Neumann i cant talk for them but it exposes how much the Auto Industry is in a change. That is why were introducing on start. You need to be in the lead. It was really time to bring this to europe and that is what we are doing here today. Hans how long will it take apple and google to come up with a car . Neumann it is difficult and you need scale, that is the key thing. I am watching it. I am not afraid about it because i think we have great cars and great conductivity technology which we are rolling out. Hans watching but not afraid we thank you for the interview. Manus, i found your car and your color. With that, i will send it back to london. Manus great interview it is always interesting to see what technology is going to happen even in a small car. Me and lime green . Not really. Anna all the colors are available, though. Manus what color would you pick . Mark blue. Anna we will be back there throughout the morning with rollsroyce ceo and jim farley the head of ford in europe. Manus join us on twitter, we are all there. We have just been tweeting up tweeting out what hans was talking about. We are markbartontv annaedwardsnews and manuscranny. Anna vw said basically good luck with the physics. Manus google says it plans to offer Wireless Phone services on a small scale in the u. S. The fed could raise rates in june, according to janus capital. What has been promoted has the potential for bubbles in the stock and bond markets. I think the fed is willing to it knowledge that by raising Interest Rates at least 25 basis point in june. Manus and saturday night live is heading east. The u. S. Comedy show is starting a chinese version. They will have comedians from across china performing sketches and live music. Everyone has cracked a screen at one point or another. A Japanese Company is bringing the latest ultra rugged smartphones to europe. Nearly everyone has a smart phone these days, and everyone has probably broken their screen at one point. But that is where this phone comes in. I have made langston i am nate langston. This Japanese Company has produced a phone they describe as rugged. It is fairly standard of a device like this. The company also says the phone can withstand being underwater. Ok, well that did more damage to our equipment that our equipment into the phone. There is one test left. Good god. That is amazing. Could be that the battery has been displaced. It is not working. The screen survived but the phone appears to have died a bitter death. Oh well, the end. Mark lets get back out to the Geneva Motor Show. Joining us right now is the jaguar