Chrysler group sees U.S. market share increase in fourth quarter
 | Eric Ridenour |
"We think with the new products we will see an increase in market share," Ridenour said in an interview on the sidelines of the Paris auto show. "We feel the new products will do well."
The Chrysler group's U.S. sales are off nearly 10 percent so far this year, and its market share has slid about half a percentage point to 12.9 percent.
The Jeep Patriot SUV, Chrysler Sebring sedan and Dodge Nitro SUV are among the new products Chrysler will launch during the fourth quarter. The models are among 10 new cars and trucks it plans to roll out this year.
Facing a glut of unsold trucks and SUVs, the Chrysler group slashed current-quarter production by 24 percent. The company is forecasting a loss of $1.5 billion in the third quarter.
Ridenour said the Chrysler group is taking a hard look at all its costs, including for labor and commodity inputs as it battles a decline in the pickup and SUV segments.
"We are going through a systematic process," he said. "We are going to look at everything. Nothing is off the table."
The COO also said the Chrysler group would try to revive talks with the United Auto Workers to cut its $2.3 billion bill for employee health care costs.
The UAW did not agree to its proposed deal to shift more health care costs to factory workers and retirees, because it said DaimlerChrysler was not facing the same financial pressures as are Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.
"We intend and have to have parity with our major competitors," he said. "That has always been the way of the program. It has to happen, and it has to happen by some sort of means."
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