German truckmaker MAN plans to slash costs to bolster profit that fell by more than a fifth in the first quarter due to tough competition in western European markets and could also come under pressure in Brazil.

Owned by Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen, MAN has forecast declining group profit this year as revenue at its commercial vehicles business may drop as much as five per cent.

Heavy-truck sales in Europe fell 9.8pc in February as demand declined in all major markets, the European auto industry association ACEA has said.

MAN is also bracing for falling sales in Brazil, where it controls about a third of the trucks market, as new emissions standards may curb overall market demand by 15pc in the first half of the year.

Operating profit at the Munich-based truckmaker fell 22 per cent to 253 million euros ($332.5 million) in the first quarter, the company said in preliminary results yesterday.

MAN's first-quarter orders totalled 4.4 billion euros, broadly unchanged from year-earlier levels with demand for more than 40,000 trucks, MAN said.

Revenue rose slightly to 3.8 billion euros as about 35,000 trucks were sold, on a par with a year earlier.