A former top Chrysler executive has said the automaker, now merged with Fiat, has less than a 50% chance of long-term survival.
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Jerry York, once a Chrysler chief finance officer and General Motors director, but best known as an adviser to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, told the Reuters Autos Summit in Detroit two big question marks continued to hang over Chrysler.
The first, York said, was timing. “Will some combination of industry sales, and product – including product from Fiat – get there in time before they run out of cash?”
The second question, York said, was perception. “As we all know, Fiat for historic reasons, does not have a great reputation in this country,” he said.
“So it’s a question mark in my mind, and in the minds of most people I talk to – how many units based on Fiat platforms can really be sold?”
Chrysler is due – in a marathon eight-hour session – due to unveil a five-year business plan on Wednesday for turning itself around. Many analysts say Chrysler desperately needs new vehicles to steer its faltering operations toward recovery after its US sales plunged 42% in September from a year ago.
York also blasted Daimler, according to Reuters, saying the German automaker had failed “to do the right things to keep Chrysler in a sustainable situation”.
Among the failures York cited, was Daimler’s inability to increase Chrysler’s penetration in foreign markets. He said that if he was in Marchionne’s shoes, he would be pushing Jeep, rather than Chrysler or Dodge, overseas.
A Reuters report on Monday said that was exactly what Marchionne was planning, among other things.
Marchionne has said Chrysler is in a “cleansing process” similar to one that he led in 2004 when he started a successful turnaround of Fiat, and Chrysler’s weak September sales results do not reflect the true viability of the company, the news agency noted.
