Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, announced on Wednesday his company intends to repay the $12.5 billion it borrowed from the U.S. federal government and the $3.8-billion lent to it by Canada by 2014.
The claim directly contradicts a U.S. Government Accountability Office report issued this week suggesting America is unlikely to recover its loans to GM and Chrysler .
Marchionne’s timeframe hinges on returning to profitability and boosting sales dramatically. To achieve this, Chrysler is updating three quarters of its lineup by the end of 2010 and the rest by 2012.
The company expects to reach profitability in 2011, Marchionne said. By 2014, the annual profit will grow to $5 billion, if all goes according to plan. Chrysler says it expects U.S. sales to jump from 950,000 to 2 million in that time period.
“Fundamentally, this thing needs to earn its right to survive as a competitive American carmaker,” Marchionne said. “That’s the real target.”
