Chrysler spokesman Max Gates confirmed the news for Reuters and said the Toledo, Ohio production facility will stop operations for a week because of “continued stress in the automotive supply chain”.
The US former bankrupt automaker revealed last week that Jeep Wrangler managed to improve sales by up to 7 percent compared to August 2009 and currently leads its class. Other Jeep models increased their sales as well, including Grand Cherokee – 23 percent versus September 2008.
Specifically, Chrysler delivered a total of 65,045 Wrangler models in the first nine months of the year. In September, Jeep sold a total of 6,002 units of the popular SUV model.
“While we had some bright spots in September, it was still a challenging sales environment for the industry,” said Peter Fong, President and Chief Executive Officer–Chrysler Brand and Lead Executive for the Sales Organization, Chrysler Group LLC. “Low inventories of popular models at the start of the month hampered Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge sales, however, the company responded with increased production. The company finished the month with increased market share compared with August 2009."
“We believe the remainder of 2009 will continue to be a challenge for the U.S. automotive market. Credit markets have thawed slightly, but still remain tight, and consumer confidence, as we saw in September, is tenuous,” Fong explained last week when announcing the company's financial sales.
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