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SRT Viper plant idled over slow sales [UPDATE]

The SRT Viper is taking an extended production break later this spring while the factory copes with low demand and gears up for the 2015 model year. Chrysler will idle the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant from April 14 to June 23, and 91 employees there will be laid off during that time. Sales have been slow so far this year, with just 91 Vipers sold in the first two months of 2014 (591 were sold all last year), according to The Detroit News. According to Chrysler, this is all part of the plan for the Viper. The automaker says that the Connor Avenue factory was meant to fluctuate in this way because it only builds one vehicle, and the sports coupe was never meant to be a mass-production vehicle. The company claims that idling the plant will allow it to manage showroom inventories. "Customer and dealer demand for the SRT Viper continues at expected levels," said Chrysler spokesperson Dianna Gutierrez to The Detroit News. SRT hasn't revealed what changes are planned for the 2015 model. This isn't the first time we've heard of the Viper's weak demand. As of October 2013, SRT had hoped to build around 2,000 examples, but only about 1,000 had been made. At that point, officials then revealed production would likely be scaled back. We've contacted the Chrysler for further information, and we'll update this post if and when we hear back. UPDATE: Chrysler has passed along this official statement regarding the plant idling: Chrysler Group confirms that its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant will be down, beginning the week of April 14. Production will resume the week of June 23. Ninety-one UAW-represented employees will be laid off during this time. The SRT Viper is a hand-crafted American exotic car that is designed for a specific consumer that values performance, style and exclusivity. It has never been intended to be a mass-production vehicle as less than 29,000 vehicles have been produced in the past 20 years. The ability to increase and decrease production at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant allows the company to continue to meet our customers' desire to keep these special cars exclusive. We will be able to take advantage of this transition to manage dealer inventories.

Fiat Chrysler chief still says EVs can't make money

Add Sergio Marchionne's insistence that it's impossible to make money on electric vehicle production to death and taxes among things we can all count on. The Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO, speaking in an interview with UK's Car Magazine, implied that Tesla Motors was "the iPhone of cars." The metaphor may have been mixed, as iPhones make plenty of cash for Apple, whereas Tesla has never made an annual profit from its electric vehicles. But the implication was that automakers should stick to what they know, and they don't know smartphones. Forget any upcoming presidential debates, we're waiting for one between Marchionne and Tesla chief Elon Musk. As for the development of autonomous-driving features? Those are another story, says Marchionne, and an area where he's far more in line with Musk. That's because the technology required to make a car safely accelerate, brake, and steer on its own is far cheaper than making a car with an electric drivetrain that offers similar range and performance to a car with an internal combustion engine, he says. As opposed to electrification, Fiat Chrysler has been going the route of modifying conventional powertrains via wringing out more power out of progressively smaller engines, and mating them with eight- and nine-speed transmissions. As for EVs, credit Marchionne for his consistency. Fiat Chrysler has been selling the Fiat 500e since 2013. That year, Wards Auto named the 500e motor to its 10 Best Engines list, while the 500e won Road & Track's 2013 award for best electric car. Still, Marchionne has long said that Fiat only makes the vehicle for to satisfy zero-emissions vehicle mandates in California, and that the company loses as much as $10,000 for every 500e that it sells. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2014 Fiat 500e News Source: Car Magazine via Hybrid VehiclesImage Credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images Green Chrysler Fiat Electric Sergio Marchionne

PSA shares rise following FCA's breakup with Renault

Shares in Groupe PSA, parent company of automakers Peugeot, Citroen and the DS brand, rose on Thursday as analysts considered the possibility that Fiat Chrysler could turn back to PSA after withdrawing its $35 billion merger offer for Renault. "Both parties have acknowledged the need for scale or [mergers and acquisitions] and may pursue other opportunities. If Nissan was an obstacle (to an FCA-Renault deal) PSA-FCA discussions could resume," wrote brokerage Jefferies. Back in March at the Geneva Motor Show, rumors started swirling that PSA was interested in a potential merger with FCA. Mike Manley, who took over at the helm of Fiat Chrysler following the death of Sergio Marchionne, had indicated a willingness to look into potential partnership options. Of course, that was all before FCA proposed a merger with Renault — with that deal now off the table, attention naturally turns back to PSA, which is also based in France. "We expect both shares to react negatively but see FCA having wider strategic options and Renault shares more downside risk near-term," said Jefferies. According to Reuters, PSA shares were up 1.5% at the time this was published, making it the top-performing stock on France's benchmark CAC-40 Index. Renault saw its shares slump 7%. Shares for FCA fell 3% in early trading on the Milan Stock Exchange. Considering that FCA said in its statement confirming the withdraw of its merger offer with Renault that "political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully," we have to wonder how keen the company is to begin negotiations with another French automaker like PSA. Those thoughts were similarly voiced by Bernstein Research analyst Max Warburton, who said (via Forbes), "Expect PSA to rise on unrealistic hopes it may be FCA's next date." Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Mitsubishi Nissan Citroen Peugeot Renault FCA renault-nissan