The contract between the two companies was signed back in 2006, so the engine supplier did expect such a measure to be taken by Chrysler. Mark Land, spokesman for Cummins, his company is fine with Chrysler's decision, but claims not all is yet lost.
"We're OK with it. Obviously a lot's changed in Chrysler's world and the world at large since then. That initial contract is dead, but the program itself is not dead," the spokesman was quoted as saying by Autonews.
The canceling of the contract comes after in January Chrysler said the diesel light-duty Ram truck will only be delayed until 2011, due to stricter federal emissions standards and the high cost of diesel fuel.
As for Chrysler, the American-Italian manufacturer declined to comment the news. Roger Benvenuti, Chrysler spokesman, only said that "we're just starting up as a new company. It's too early to say what's going on."
Alongside Cummins, Chrysler targets to kill contracts with other suppliers as well, including ArvinMeritor, Continental, Delphi Corp., Denso Corp., Lear Corp., Robert Bosch, Magna International., TRW Automotive. and Valeo.
As far as Bosch is concerned though, things are yet unclear. Yesterday we told you how the auto supplier expects to see sales increase following the Fiat-Chrysler alliance, because of their "high delivery shares at Fiat", a sign that they may still continue with Fiat-Chrysler.
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