01/14/2008 09h01

Chrysler brings new partner’s vehicle

Valor Econômico - 01/14/2008

Chrysler chose Brazil for the premiere of its first partnership since it split from German Daimler. The American assembler closed an agreement with Nissan and will use a factory of the Japanese brand in Mexico to produce a small car, which will be sold in Brazil in 2009. The new car will be made based on the Versa, the name of the model manufactured by Nissan in Mexico. But it will have another name, which has not been defined yet. It is a small hatchback, in the style of Volkswagen's Polo. According to LaSorda, the new vehicle will be sold with a flex engine, which allows the exclusive use of ethanol or gasoline, as in most cars sold in Brazil today. This is a segment in which Chrysler has not worked yet, and without which the assembler does not have any chance of working with force in regions of consumers of smaller purchasing power. In an interview to a small group of journalists that wanted to know the next moves of the newly-formed partnership, LaSorda confirmed the negotiations in other countries. Chrysler had an alliance with Daimler that involved both the administrative and financial areas. With Nissan, the company simply made a partnership to take advantage of the use of already developed vehicle platforms.