Chrysler 300C For Sale Overseas

CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 10, 2004; Jeffrey Jones writing for Reuters reported that Chrysler will soon offer its hot-selling 300C sedan to buyers outside North America, as it moves to more than double the number of its models available overseas.

Dieter Zetsche, president and chief executive of DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler unit, told a business forum on Friday the automaker plans to move the bold and brassy 300C into international showrooms starting in 2006.

Chrysler has decided to expand in overseas markets during what Zetsche called "a year of redemption" after a long period of cost-cutting and repositioning in the aftermath of the 1998 merger with Germany's Daimler-Benz.

"We will take our growing success in North America into international markets," he told reporters following his speech at the lush Spruce Meadows equestrian facility nestled in the Rocky Mountain foothills.

The facility, run by Alberta businessman Ron Southern, is the backdrop for an annual round-table discussion attended by international business and government leaders.

After the merger, Zetsche got unsolicited advice from some quarters that Chrysler should drop out of making cars and concentrate on its strength -- light trucks, he said.

But a recent slew of new car offerings, including the 300C with its low-slung roof, has shown his decision to stay in the ultracompetitive car market has paid off, he said.

Left- and right-hand drive versions of the big four-door sedans will be aimed at the international market, along with a high-performance version.

Chrysler already sells vehicles in more than 125 countries, and expects to market 180,000 outside North America this year, Zetsche said.

The division's goal is build market share in Europe from the current level of about 0.7 percent to 1 percent within three years and to 1.4 percent in five years, with the introduction of its Dodge brand, Zetsche said.

By 2007, the number of vehicle models Chrysler sells overseas will more than double to 18, he said.

This year, Chrysler's restructuring and new product development paid off in a turnaround in financial fortunes. The U.S. division helped boost the parent company's operating profit to $2.5 billion in the second quarter.

Still, competition has never been more intense, especially in North America where consumers can choose from over 50 brands, Zetsche said.

"We will continue to use all our energy in further improvements and not in having parties about what we have accomplished," he said.

The unit aims to meet or beat the records of production costs, productivity and quality among the industry's best performers by 2007, he said.

The popularity of the so-called LX models, such as the 300C and Dodge Magnum, has prompted the company to examine a third shift at the Brampton, Ontario, plant where they are built.

Chrysler sent a letter to the Canadian Auto Workers union on Friday, spelling out some of the conditions that must be met before the shift is added. Zetsche declined to spell out the conditions.