Numbers on Belvidere-built vehicles bleak

By Alex Gary

BusinessRockford.com

Dealers in the U.S. in October had their worst month yet selling the trio of vehicles built in Belvidere, a sobering statistic a day before Fiat CEO and new Chrysler leader Sergio Marchionne is scheduled to present his five-year business plan for Chrysler Group LLC.

Chrysler employs about 1,700 workers at its Belvidere assembly plant where workers put together the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot. Two of those models, the Caliber and Patriot, were among the 10 most-bought vehicles during the U.S. government’s cash-for-clunkers rebate plan in July and August.

The vehicles moved so quickly that there was little inventory to sell in September. But in October, with the plant back in operation for more than two months, dealers actually sold fewer than in September.

Overall, dealers sold 65,803 vehicles in October, up 6 percent from September but 30 percent down from October 2008.

Sales of the Patriot fell nearly 17 percent from September to 1,148. Compass sales increased, but there really was nowhere to go but up. Dealers moved just 101 Compasses in September and that improved to 327. Still, that was the second-lowest U.S. total in the 40 months the small SUV has been available.

Sales of the Caliber, which in 2007 had more than 101,000 sales in the U.S., fell to just 583, an 11 percent decline from September and its lowest total ever.

Despite the weak sales, Max Gates said the company still plans to temporarily add about 1,000 workers for a second shift to produce an additional 10,000 Calibers by year’s end. The beginning of the shift was moved from October to mid-November.

On Wednesday, in Auburn Hills, Mich., Marchionne will unveil his five-year business plan for Chrysler. Belvidere Mayor Fred Brereton and Growth Dimensions Executive Director Mark Williams have been invited to the event. That is seen as good news for the area because it would be unlikely that Chrysler and Fiat would bring in leaders from areas that are going to receive bad news.

Analysts have been speculating that Chrysler will rapidly redesign the Caliber, Compass and Patriot to try to boost sales for a couple of years until Fiat is ready to replace the lineup with brand-new products.

Assistant Business Editor Alex Gary may be reached at agary@rrstar.com or at 815-987-1339.

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PAST COVERAGE ON CHRYSLER
Nov. 2: Belvidere mayor to hear Fiat CEO
Nov. 1: Fiat might cut, redo Caliber lineup
Oct. 25: Patriot outsells Caliber in Sept.
Oct. 2: Chrysler balks at property taxes
Oct. 1: Auto sales plunge as rebate ends
Sept. 14: Chrysler delays restoring second shift
Sept. 1: Caliber, Patriot shortages hurt Chrysler

GRAPHICS
Sales of Belvidere-built trio
AP interactives examine Chrysler, Ford, GM

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