Given its lean current condition, it comes as little surprise that the proposal Chrysler LLC issued to the United States Congress earlier today outlines fewer future product changes than the proposal issued by General Motors. Chrysler, in its request for a low-interest $7 billion loan, detailed its plan to bring more efficient gasoline and electric vehicles to the market.
Though it would be hard to say whether it is in more dire straits than General Motors, Chrysler announced that it will have just $2.5 billion in cash at the beginning of 2009. The automaker says its cash level will fall below the amount needed to operate during the first quarter of 2009 without the loan.
Unlike General Motors, which vowed to drastically cut its product lineup in its plan, Chrysler ’s outline was more akin to Ford ’s in that it discussed the automaker’s green future model line, though Chrysler neglected to specify any details on cost-savings plans.
Chrysler says it intends to bring 24 new models to dealer showrooms by the end of 2012, including a “wide portfolio of hybrid electric-drive vehicles.”
Chrysler intends to introduce its first full-function electric-drive model by 2010 with the eventual goal of 500,000 units on the road by 2013.
The automaker also says it intends to increase international partnerships – like the one with Nissan that will see Dodge -badged Nissan Versas for sale in South America and Nissan-badged Dodge Ram s for North America.
The plan neglects to mention what Chrysler would do to reduce costs, however. The automaker has already slashed thousands of jobs, closed factories and reduced CEO Bob Nardelli’s salary to $1 annually. Chrysler apparently won’t cut or sell any brands – most analysts view Jeep as the most valuable brand in the automaker’s lineup and say that Dodge and especially Chrysler division are of limited value.
