Chrysler exports jobs and production to China and shuts down plants here while Toyota builds plants and cars here and hires Americans. Who is the "American" company?
Chrysler may build with China's Chery
Chrysler signed a letter of intent last year to form an alliance with Chery, which would build small vehicles for Chrysler potentially under its Dodge brand. DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board, which is meeting in Germany this week, will review the plan and could give it the go-ahead, said people familiar with the situation.
Separately, the automaker reportedly is negotiating to expand its relationship with Chery to include auto parts and a wider range of car models.
Chrysler lost $1.5 billion last year and has launched a comeback plan that includes cutting 13,000 hourly and salaried jobs by 2009.
Chrysler spokesman Mike Aberlich declined to comment on the board meeting or discuss whether Chrysler and Chery are in discussion to broaden their relationship.
"We do currently sell four-cylinder engines to them from South America and we've talked about a small car focusing on the b-segment," Aberlich said. "That would be an arena that Chrysler Group doesn't play in right now."
Chrysler chose Chery in December to export small cars from China. The move would give Chrysler, known for its beefy trucks and SUVs, a presence in the growing subcompact segment to capture young buyers.
The automaker showed off its Dodge Hornet concept at the Geneva Auto Show in
2006, a car smaller than the Dodge Caliber that's sold in the United States and abroad.The automaker's plan hinges on the supervisory board's approval.
"Chrysler could be hedging its bets and continuing down the same road they had started before talking to GM," said Rebecca Lindland, a Global Insight analyst in Lexington, Mass.
-- "If they pull a knife, you pull a gun. If they put one of yours in the hospital, you put one of theirs in the morgue." Sean Connery, "The Untouchables"