Chrysler LLC is working on a significant global expansion following its split from Daimler AG, a senior executive said on Thursday.
That expansion will include forging new international partnerships and could involve renewing past alliances with Mitsubishi and Hyundai, said Frank Klegon, vice president of Chrysler's product development.
"We want to grow as a global enterprise," Klegon said at an automotive conference in Traverse City, Michigan.
PHOTO: AP
The announcement comes as Chrysler flexes its muscles under new owner Cerberus, a private equity group which bought an 80.1 percent stake in the historic US car company for US$7.4 billion on Aug. 3.
Plans are in the works for new engineering and procurement centers in China and Poland to supplement facilities already established in Mexico and India, Klegon said.
These centers will also help locate suppliers for various components, negotiate with local governments on regulations and fine-tune vehicles to regional consumer demands, he said.
"We look to have three development centers that will look from a global perspective for lower-cost sourcing," he said.
lower cost
The aim would be to design and develop lower-cost vehicles with a local partner that could be exported to other regions.
Chinese-made cars will be the first off the block for both local production and export, he said.
"I don't see us producing cars in India for quite some time ... it's more of a technology hub for us," he said. "Eastern Europe, I don't know yet. We'd have to have a partner."
There are no immediate plans to expand operations in Latin American because of concerns about the stability of local currencies, he said.
"We think that's a growing market and we have to figure out ways to manage those sides of the risk because the benefits are large," he said.
Renewing an alliance with Mitsubishi or Hyundai could also help Chrysler expand its global reach, he said, adding that the decision to drop an equity stake in Hyundai created "part of the internal conflict" between Daimler and Chrysler executives.
"There's no commitment at this point," he said. "They're both interesting companies, particularly Hyundai. We'll see if we can create some future opportunities with them."
Chrysler's new chief, former head of home-improvement chain Home Depot Robert Nardelli, will bring valuable skills to help drive the expansion, Klegon said.
"He has a track record of international expansion, increases in sales and operational efficiencies," he said. "He's a high-energy guy that loves cars."
While there has been some loss in terms of economies of scale following the split with Daimler, Chrysler has gained flexibility in its global expansion plans, Klegon said.
It took Cerberus just three days to approve nine projects, a process that would have taken "weeks" with Daimler.
Chrysler also will not lose access to Daimler's research and technology even though the companies are no longer formally merged, he added.
price
"We'll have to agree on price and investment ... but at the end of the day we're not exactly overlapping products," he said, noting that Daimler has retained a 19.9 percent stake in Chrysler and is invested in its success.
"So we get that opportunity to be a pretty fast follower in a lot of technology," he said.
Klegon acknowledged that it could take some work to get US consumers ready to buy a vehicle made in China, particularly given the recent distribution on YouTube of a video showing how Chrysler's partner, Chery, failed a crash test.
"There's a lot of China things going on right now with issues with dog food and toothpaste and a lot of things that have got people's concerns about whether the controls are in place to ensure that consumers are protected," he said.
"That's another awareness issue we'll have to manage as we go forward to show that the vehicle we'll be involved with is a better performer," he said.
One of the things Chrysler can offer Chery is some technical expertise on designing safer vehicles, he added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique