Chrysler talks down sales talks
Chrysler LLC, rescued from collapse by a $4 billion U.S. loan, isn’t “hibernating” while waiting for another company to buy it, Chief Executive Officer Robert Nardelli said.
The third-largest U.S. automaker will begin selling 24 new models in the next 4 years and is committed to being a “viable,” standalone company, Nardelli said today in an interview at the Detroit auto show.
“No one should read what we’re doing as if we are trying to position the company for sale,” Nardelli said. Cerberus Capital Management LP bought 80.1 percent of the company from Daimler AG in August 2007.
Chrysler has to convince consumers and the U.S. government that it intends to do more than use federal aid to stay in business while trying to find a buyer. The automaker won’t get the rest of its $7 billion loan request without a restructuring plan to prove its viability, Nardelli said.
Chrysler Not ‘Hibernating,’ Sees 24 Models in 4 Years (Update1) - bloomberg.com
January 11th, 2009 at 11:22 am
If the most recent past is any indication then Mr. Nardelli has a tough road to hoe to get anybody to believe that Cerberus isn’t looking to unload, merger or part out Chrysler LLC.
I’d feel more confident in Chrysler as a stand alone company if we heard from Mr. Stephen Feinberg of Cerberus.
Lets hope that Mr. Nardelli is telling the truth and the promised 24 new models get to see the light of day.
January 11th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Well I just watched the 200C reveal at the Detroit Auto Show.
Great looking car, but are we going to see one and if we are when: 3 years, 4 years or longer?
Can’t get any firm dates of product launches to date.
January 11th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Rich,
Is the styling of this 200C similar to what you saw at the 2010-11 300C preview to dealers?
January 13th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
The big problem I see here is in the second sentence of the article. 24 vehicles to go on sale in the next 4 years??!! Maybe they should start thinking about streamlining their fleet instead of grossly inflating it. Where the heck would you NEED 24 different models?? All they need is a good compact, subcompact, midsize, full size, sport/muscle car, premium full size, crossover, mid size suv, full size suv, mid size truck, 1/2 ton truck, 3/4 ton truck, and 1 ton truck. That’s 13 different vehicles that would fill the needs/wants of ANY consumer. So what the heck do they need another 11 different models for, other than wasting money?