Chrysler Keeps Plants Open

The improbable recovery of Chrysler continues, just three years after a government supported Chapter 11. Most analysts believed that Chrysler would never have the funds to launch enough new vehicles to compete with larger rival both in the US and Japan. Chrysler countered by offering just a few cars and light trucks, but nearly each one was a success in the market.

Chrysler announced that it would not close several plants for two weeks of maintainance as it has in the past. The car company said it cannot afford to because of demand. It is easy to tell why Chrysler has the challenge. Domestic vehicles sales in April were modest. But, Chrysler’s sales rose 20%.

Few people believed that the company could eat into the market share of GM (NYSE: GM), Ford (NYSE: F), and Toyota (NYSE: TM). It turns out those few people were right.