Thursday, October 23, 2008

Chrysler to share auto discount

photo

There's good news for Chrysler's employees, too: a discount on most Vipers. A 2006 SRT10 Coupe is shown.

Wal-Mart workers to get savings offer

BY TIM HIGGINS • FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Chrysler LLC, which has seen its sales drop 25% so far this year, will begin offering employee discount prices to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. workers in a special program beginning Nov. 1.

All U.S.-based Wal-Mart employees will be eligible for the incentive, Curtrise Garner, a Chrysler spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

"Wal-Mart is one of our largest fleet customers," she said.

She said the savings would range from 4% to 6% off invoice or 8% to 14% off MSRP. It is identical to what Chrysler employees and eligible family members receive.

Dan Fogleman, Wal-Mart spokesman, said the retail giant has 1.4 million employees in the United States.

Chrysler also told its employees that they will now be able to get an employee discount price on most Dodge Viper models.

This isn't the first time Chrysler has extended employee pricing; earlier this year, it did so for military personnel, Tier 1 suppliers and members of AARP.

Chrysler's U.S. sales have fallen at twice the rate of the industry average, worsened by its truck-heavy lineup at a time when customers were turning to more fuel-efficient vehicles. The recent financial turmoil has added even greater difficulty, making it hard for many people to find financing needed to acquire a vehicle.

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