Rather overshadowed by the major Ford announcement taking place elsewhere in the city, Chrysler Group’s new president and CEO, Tom LaSorda, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on Monday, called for government and industry leaders to address current issues facing the US automotive industry.
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“If those of us in positions of leadership do our jobs to make and keep our companies competitive; and if all of us demand that our elected officials do their part to enact and enforce policies that will level the playing field, there’s no doubt in my mind that we can achieve the competitiveness of Japan, or the improved energy self-sufficiency of Brazil,” said LaSorda.
He sees solving currency and energy issues as a quick and meaningful fix that would keep the US automotive industry globally competitive.
The trade advantage that Japanese automakers have, has nothing to do with products, quality, productivity or any of the other attributes that we use to define competitiveness in this business, claimed LaSorda. He also questioned the support of US government policies that do not call for the same advantage in the US market.
“The Japanese Central Bank intervenes in currency markets to keep the yen cheap and to create an advantage for its industry. Why doesn’t our government do the same for us?”
In the efforts to improve energy solutions, LaSorda acknowledged that, “government-industry fuel cell partnerships are working. DaimlerChrysler alone has already put a total of 100 hydrogen fuel-cell-powered vehicles on the road around the world and we’re working with General Motors and BMW to jointly develop a state-of-the-art, two-mode, full hybrid propulsion architecture.”
Biofuels have also made strides in the automotive industry as a means of improving energy solutions. Said LaSorda: “We think biofuels are a win-win proposition. They represent a huge opportunity to reduce our consumption of conventional petroleum-based fuel and our dependence on foreign oil.”
LaSorda said that biofuels support the American agricultural economy. Currently, the Chrysler Group offers the Jeep Liberty [Cherokee] CRD which is fuelled with B5 — a renewable fuel with a 5% biodiesel mix derived from locally grown soy beans.
He added that “beginning with our 2007 Dodge Ram, we will endorse the use of B20, a 20% biodiesel mix for use by US military, government and commercial fleet customers.”
LaSorda concluded: “We all want a bright future for this industry … and so do our employees and hundreds of thousands of others.”
But it will take a combination of leadership in Detroit and in Washington to get the job done, he added.
