DrKilljoY
10-31-2007, 03:18 PM
Chrysler is set to eliminate three slow-selling models, including the once-popular PT Cruiser hatchback, as part of a widening shake-up since its acquisition three months ago by Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity group.
Chrysler plans to discontinue three models that haven't been selling well. One is the PT Cruiser, which was a hit when it launched in 2000.
Chrysler, the smallest of the three Detroit-based carmakers, has built more than 1m of the retro-styled PT Cruisers since the model was launched in 2000. But sales in September were 42 per cent lower than a year earlier. The PT Cruiser's appearance has changed little during its lifetime, and it has faced growing competition, including from Chrysler's own Dodge Caliber, which went on sale in 2006.
The other two models likely to be axed are the Dodge Magnum station wagon and the Chrysler Pacifica, a crossover vehicle that looks like a sport-utility vehicle but is built on the same platform as the company's minivans.
Pacifica sales were 44 per cent lower in September than a year earlier. The three models set to be dropped were identified on Tuesday by the Detroit News, and confirmed by a person familiar with Chrysler's strategy.
In the latest of a series of senior management appointments since the Cerberus takeover, the carmaker this week named John Cataldo, a former General Electric executive, as vice-president of business development and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr Cataldo will spearhead Chrysler's drive to forge partnerships and joint ventures with other companies as a way of expanding its fledgling business outside North America.
Chrysler plans to discontinue three models that haven't been selling well. One is the PT Cruiser, which was a hit when it launched in 2000.
Chrysler, the smallest of the three Detroit-based carmakers, has built more than 1m of the retro-styled PT Cruisers since the model was launched in 2000. But sales in September were 42 per cent lower than a year earlier. The PT Cruiser's appearance has changed little during its lifetime, and it has faced growing competition, including from Chrysler's own Dodge Caliber, which went on sale in 2006.
The other two models likely to be axed are the Dodge Magnum station wagon and the Chrysler Pacifica, a crossover vehicle that looks like a sport-utility vehicle but is built on the same platform as the company's minivans.
Pacifica sales were 44 per cent lower in September than a year earlier. The three models set to be dropped were identified on Tuesday by the Detroit News, and confirmed by a person familiar with Chrysler's strategy.
In the latest of a series of senior management appointments since the Cerberus takeover, the carmaker this week named John Cataldo, a former General Electric executive, as vice-president of business development and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr Cataldo will spearhead Chrysler's drive to forge partnerships and joint ventures with other companies as a way of expanding its fledgling business outside North America.