Despite well-publicized reports that Chrysler is in serious discussions to sell off some of its assets, including its core auto brands, Jeep , Dodge and Chrysler, the automaker’s President adamantly denied the reports. Chrysler LLC President Tom LaSorda said this morning on a conference call with the media that the company has no intention to sell off its brands.
“We will not separate the brands from the company,†LaSorda stressed. Reports surfaced last night that Chrysler was talking to Nissan -Renault about Jeep and major supplier Magna International about certain Chrysler and Dodge models.
The Reuters report said that the automaker would sell off its Belvidere, Illinois, factory, which builds the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass and Patriot. The report indicated that Chrysler wanted to sell the production of those models to Magna.
LaSorda did confirm that the automaker is in unrelated talks with Magna over a potential Russian parternship. He said that the automaker was not holding any talks with Renault-Nissan, though it does intend to continue producing trucks for Nissan in exchange for small Nissan-built, Dodge-branded cars.
He also suggested that any major deal brokered between Chrysler and a supplier would require the oversight of a potential car czar, a government overseer that seems to be generally supported by the Detroit Three.
“If we were to sell any assets … the loan agreement would never allow us to do that without going through the car czar,†LaSorda said during the conference.
