Chrysler president says company has plan for prosperity

January 24, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

The automaker’s president said Chrysler shouldn’t need more government bailout money.

Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — Chrysler LLC is “alive and well,” investing in new products, planning for slow sales and looking to incentives to help the struggling automaker sell its way out of the economic doldrums, President and Vice Chairman Jim Press said Friday.

The days of easy credit are over, and 2009 is about facing financial realities, he said.

“Our company’s scrappy. A number of times in the past, people sort of wondered what Chrysler was going to do or not do,” he told analysts, dealers and others at a J.D. Power and Associates roundtable in New Orleans.

“I can tell you, one thing we’re going to do, and that’s we’re going to make it through this. And we’re going to emerge in a very strong, positive way. We don’t just have a viability plan; we have a plan for prosperity.”

Press said he expects things to come together around March 31, when Chrysler will have to prove its viability to hold on to $4 billion in loans from the federal government and get another $3 billion it is seeking.

Press said Chrysler shouldn’t need more bailout money from the government.

He said the government’s viability conditions are in line with what the company must prove as part of a proposed agreement with Fiat Group SpA to help Chrysler bring badly needed small cars to its showrooms and help Fiat re-enter the U.S. market.

He said he was confident Chrysler could make its case.

If the government aid or the Fiat deal falls through, Press said he’s not sure what that will mean for Chrysler.

The Fiat deal would give the Italian company a 35 percent stake in Chrysler without having to contribute any cash.

If the deal is completed, Press said he did not anticipate a change in Chrysler’s management.

He didn’t say whether Fiat cars would be rebranded when they hit U.S. showrooms, something he said was possible within two years. All options are open, he said.

Besides the $7 billion bailout, Chrysler’s financial arm also received a $1.5 billion loan from the Treasury Department last week that let Chrysler start offering zero-percent loans and expand the number of buyers who will qualify for financing.

The company added other incentives Thursday including additional rebates and employee pricing for the general public.

Press said the company hopes the incentives will help Chrysler sell its way out of its situation.