Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Chrysler looks to double international sales

GENEVA (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC expects to double its international sales to about 400,000 vehicles within five years, the company's vice chairman and president, Jim Press, told reporters on Tuesday.

Chrysler remains open to partnerships to increase the sales and to reduce its development costs, Press said, adding that the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China offer growth opportunities for Chrysler.

"It isn't all about numbers," Press said on the sidelines of the Geneva auto show.

Press, who had said last week that forecasts for a recovery in U.S. auto in the second half of 2008 were "wishful thinking," also said Chrysler had not made any plans to cut its North American production, though it continues to watch the market closely.

Chrysler had cut back some production late in 2007.

"We were ahead of the game and anticipated this market before others did and made some adjustments to our production schedule early on," Press said.

"If the market continues to get more challenging, if the headwinds pick up, than we will re-evaluate," he said.

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