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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will produce no more passenger cars in the U.S. early next year. The Dodge Dart will end production in September, while production of the Chrysler 200 will cease in December. This is to make way for more production of SUVs and trucks - Jeep Cherokee at Belvidere, Illinois and Sterling Heights, MI for the next-gen Ram 1500. "By the time we finish with this, hopefully, all of our production assets in the United States — if you exclude Canada and Mexico from the fold — all those U.S. plants will be producing either Jeeps or Ram," said FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne during a call with analysts yesterday. Why would FCA end passenger car production in the U.S.? Profit margins. The Detroit Free Press reports this is part of Marchionne's multibillion-dollar plan to match the profit margins seen at Ford and General Motors. Part of the plan involves taking advantage of the popularity of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks in the U.S.; low gas prices, and the lower costs of producing passenger cars in Mexico. "When you look at the economics of car manufacturing ...the margins that we were getting from our experience of both the Dart and the Chrysler 200 ...yielded returns that would not, on a competitive basis, match even anything close or remotely close to what we could derive from utilization of those assets in the Jeep or Ram world. So we have made that shift," Marchionne said. Despite FCA ending production of both the Dart and 200, Marchionne said he is still looking for a partner to build these vehicles. “I think we have made progress. We’re not in a position to announce anything." But would any automaker be willing to take up FCA's offer? "Who would want to commit to that capacity in their own plant when they didn't sell well when they were new?" said Dave Sullivan, an analyst with AutoPacific to Automotive News. "No one wants to build sedans when their own capacity is at a premium and they can't build enough crossovers to satisfy demand." Source: Detroit Free Press, Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article -
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will produce no more passenger cars in the U.S. early next year. The Dodge Dart will end production in September, while production of the Chrysler 200 will cease in December. This is to make way for more production of SUVs and trucks - Jeep Cherokee at Belvidere, Illinois and Sterling Heights, MI for the next-gen Ram 1500. "By the time we finish with this, hopefully, all of our production assets in the United States — if you exclude Canada and Mexico from the fold — all those U.S. plants will be producing either Jeeps or Ram," said FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne during a call with analysts yesterday. Why would FCA end passenger car production in the U.S.? Profit margins. The Detroit Free Press reports this is part of Marchionne's multibillion-dollar plan to match the profit margins seen at Ford and General Motors. Part of the plan involves taking advantage of the popularity of crossovers, SUVs, and trucks in the U.S.; low gas prices, and the lower costs of producing passenger cars in Mexico. "When you look at the economics of car manufacturing ...the margins that we were getting from our experience of both the Dart and the Chrysler 200 ...yielded returns that would not, on a competitive basis, match even anything close or remotely close to what we could derive from utilization of those assets in the Jeep or Ram world. So we have made that shift," Marchionne said. Despite FCA ending production of both the Dart and 200, Marchionne said he is still looking for a partner to build these vehicles. “I think we have made progress. We’re not in a position to announce anything." But would any automaker be willing to take up FCA's offer? "Who would want to commit to that capacity in their own plant when they didn't sell well when they were new?" said Dave Sullivan, an analyst with AutoPacific to Automotive News. "No one wants to build sedans when their own capacity is at a premium and they can't build enough crossovers to satisfy demand." Source: Detroit Free Press, Automotive News (Subscription Required) -
It was in late January when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart would "run their course”. A diplomatic way of saying we wouldn't see a second-generation of either model. But Marchionne mentioned that both models could continue on if a partner was found. Motor Trend has learned that FCA is currently with potential partners, although who isn't mentioned. “There are discussions going on now. I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It’s both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically,” Marchionne said to Motor Trend on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show. The key thing FCA is looking for in a partner to build their small cars is someone “who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available.” This comes on the heels of FCA announcing an extension of the temporary shutdown at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan - home of Chrysler 200 production. The plant was shut down on February 1st and workers were expected to return on March 14th. This was to help cut down on the massive supplies of 200s sitting on dealer lots. FCA has decided to extend it by three weeks to April 4th. A FCA spokeswoman tells Reuters the reason for the extension is to match supply with demand. At the start of this March, FCA had a 147 day supply of 200s. This is an improvement from February where there was a 217 day supply. Source: Motor Trend, Reuters -
It was in late January when Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' CEO Sergio Marchionne announced that the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart would "run their course”. A diplomatic way of saying we wouldn't see a second-generation of either model. But Marchionne mentioned that both models could continue on if a partner was found. Motor Trend has learned that FCA is currently with potential partners, although who isn't mentioned. “There are discussions going on now. I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It’s both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically,” Marchionne said to Motor Trend on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show. The key thing FCA is looking for in a partner to build their small cars is someone “who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available.” This comes on the heels of FCA announcing an extension of the temporary shutdown at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan - home of Chrysler 200 production. The plant was shut down on February 1st and workers were expected to return on March 14th. This was to help cut down on the massive supplies of 200s sitting on dealer lots. FCA has decided to extend it by three weeks to April 4th. A FCA spokeswoman tells Reuters the reason for the extension is to match supply with demand. At the start of this March, FCA had a 147 day supply of 200s. This is an improvement from February where there was a 217 day supply. Source: Motor Trend, Reuters View full article
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William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2012 Chrysler has begun taking orders for the new Dodge Dart from their dealers. Hopefully the dealers read the fine print, as there are a couple catches to the new Dart. The first catch is how many Darts each dealer will receive. Chrysler will be rewarding a certain number of Darts to dealerships depending on the number of Dodge Caliber models each dealer sold. Despite Caliber production ending last December, there are still 2,200 Calibers still sitting on dealer lots. Catch number two deals with the first Darts that the dealers will be receiving. Like the first Chevrolet Volts allocated to dealers, the first Darts will be used for demonstration purposes. Chrysler says the demo Darts can be sold once more Darts enter the flow in late July or early August. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster. View full article
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Amount Of Dodge Darts For Dealers Dependent On Caliber Sales
William Maley posted an article in Dodge
William Maley Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com June 19, 2012 Chrysler has begun taking orders for the new Dodge Dart from their dealers. Hopefully the dealers read the fine print, as there are a couple catches to the new Dart. The first catch is how many Darts each dealer will receive. Chrysler will be rewarding a certain number of Darts to dealerships depending on the number of Dodge Caliber models each dealer sold. Despite Caliber production ending last December, there are still 2,200 Calibers still sitting on dealer lots. Catch number two deals with the first Darts that the dealers will be receiving. Like the first Chevrolet Volts allocated to dealers, the first Darts will be used for demonstration purposes. Chrysler says the demo Darts can be sold once more Darts enter the flow in late July or early August. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.
