2

Chrysler keeps its engine running

Chrysler vehicles are transported from the Belvidere Assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill.

To view this content, Javascript must be enabled and Adobe Flash Player must be installed.

Get Adobe Flash player

TEXT OF STORY

Bill Radke: Later this morning, workers at a Chrysler assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill. will be back on the job. Like all Chrysler factories, the plant has been shut down since the automaker went bankrupt in April. But it's re-opening earlier than expected as Chrysler races to get back on its feet. We get more now from Marketplace's Jeremy Hobson.


Jeremy Hobson: Thank the government's auto task force. Thank Fiat. Jesse Toprak at Edmunds.com says it doesn't matter who you thank -- just under a month after emerging from bankruptcy, Chrysler is moving faster than many thought possible.

Jesse Toprak: I think that they've emerged with minimal damage, and we've also interestingly seen that the idea that people will not buy from a bankrupt company is simply not accurate. We've actually seen that bankruptcy was probably one of the best promotions that Chrysler could have come up with. In fact their sales went up.

Those sales and a complete factory shutdown means dealerships are running out of cars.

Joe Phillippi says that's one reason factories are re-opening so soon. He's president of AutoTrends Consulting.

Joe Phillippi: Dealers are running out of inventory of certain products that are doing well in the marketplace.

Analysts say keeping sales up during the reorganization is going to be key. Chrysler needs the cash to keep the engine running until it can start selling Fiat's cars in the United States.

I'm Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.

About the author

Jeremy Hobson is host of Marketplace Morning Report, where he looks at business news from a global perspective to prepare listeners for the day ahead. Follow Jeremy on Twitter @jeremyhobson
Nate W's picture
Nate W - Jul 8, 2009

John- I'd seriously doubt Chrysler/Fiat could brin in 2010 models; those are under production now (and some for more than 6 months!). If they really hurried, and the engineering was already completed to handle our N.A. regulatory situation (tougher than Europe in crash testing), they _might_ be able to make 2012 MY. Even that could be difficult given how much time it takes for just tooling!
Good luck to Chrysler Group LLC; they're going to need it (as does Michigan).

John Fleming's picture
John Fleming - Jul 8, 2009

What lines is Chrysler/Fiat going to produce. I assume that the vehicles built will be the 2010 models.