Chrysler has confirmed it will build its next generation minivan line at its Windsor, Ontario plant and successors to the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger and Challenger at Brompton but has withdrawn financial assistance requests from the federal and provincial governments.
In a statement, the automaker said it this week told Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper and Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne it would withdraw all requests for financial assistance in relation to the development of its two assembly plants in the province.
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“It is clear to us that our projects are now being used as a political football, a process that, in our view, apart from being unnecessary and ill-advised, will ultimately not be to the benefit of Chrysler,” the statement said.
“As a result, Chrysler will deal in an unfettered fashion with its strategic alternatives regarding product development and allocation, and will fund out of its own resources whatever capital requirements the Canadian operations require.
“These capital allocation decisions will be governed by and continuously monitored on the basis of a variety of considerations that determine the competitiveness of Canada first and foremost in a NAFTA context but also increasingly on a global basis. Of particular importance for this evaluation will be the outcome of our collective bargaining negotiations that will be carried out in 2016 with UNIFOR (the merged entity of the CAW and CEP unions).
“Our commitment to Canada remains strong,” said Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler chairman and CEO.
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By GlobalData“We have been active participants of the Canadian economy for nearly 90 years, both as a manufacturer and as a seller of cars, trucks and vans. It is my sincere hope that all stakeholders involved commit to do what they can to preserve the competitiveness of the country, and in particular of the province of Ontario.
“We will do what we can to preserve and nurture the competitiveness of our operations, but we reserve the right, as is true for all global manufacturers, to reassess our position as conditions change.”
Marchionne added, “On a personal note, as a Canadian, I regret my failure in having been unable to convey the highly competitive nature of markets that offer manufacturing opportunities to carmakers that operate on a global scale.
“Some of the shots across the bow following our initial approaches to the federal and provincial governments reveal, apart from political convenience, a somewhat restricted view of Canada as an industrial player in what has become a borderless economy.
“It is clear that we, at Chrysler, need to do more to explain ourselves and our choices going forward.”
