GERMANY: Chrysler chief wants to reduce dealer numbers

DaimlerChrysler US unit Chrysler wants to consolidate its dealership network, Reuters reported, citing The Financial Times Deutschland.

“The number of dealers should be reduced,” Chrysler boss Dieter Zetsche reportedly told the FTD in an interview.

Reuters said Zetsche declined to comment on how many would be closed, but he did say that the dealership consolidation should be brought about by “mergers or also acquisitions”.

Reuters noted that Chrysler has some 4,200 dealerships in the US.

Zetsche reiterated Chrysler’s goal of posting a profit in the current year, and said this included potential one-off restructuring costs, according to the report.

“We’re letting ourselves be judged with the net result, and there’s the clear statement that we want to close the year in positive territory,” he said, according to Reuters.