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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/PSA's dominance in small vans hangs up EU's merger approval

BRUSSELS — EU antitrust regulators are concerned about Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot / PSA's combined high market share in small vans and may require concessions to clear their $50 billion merger, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which are seeking to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker, were told of the European Commission's concerns last week. If Fiat and PSA fail to dispel the European Commission's doubts in the next two days and subsequently decline to offer concessions by Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, the deal would face a four-month-long investigation. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a June 17 deadline for its preliminary review, declined to comment. Fiat was not immediately available for comment while PSA had no immediate comment. Hiving off overlapping businesses, usually a regulatory demand to ensure more competition, could prove tricky for the carmakers because of the technicalities. Fiat and PSA are looking to merge to help offset slowing demand and shoulder the cost of making cleaner vehicles to meet tougher emissions regulations. The deal puts under one roof the Italian carmaker's brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati and the French company's Peugeot, Opel and DS. Related Video: Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot

Fiat Chrysler and PSA boards sign off on merger

MILAN — The boards of French carmaker PSA, the owner of Peugeot, and Fiat Chrysler in separate meetings on Tuesday approved a binding agreement for a $50 billion merger, sources said. The two midsized carmakers announced plans six weeks ago for a tie-up to create the world's No. 4 carmaker and reshape the global industry. A merger is seen helping them deal with big challenges in the industry, including a global downturn in demand and the need to develop costly cleaner cars to meet looming anti-pollution rules. Both companies declined to comment. A source close to FCA had said earlier the two companies could formally announce the agreement early on Wednesday, followed by a conference call to explain further details later in the day. China's Dongfeng Motor Group, which now has a 12.2% equity stake in PSA, will have a reduced stake of around 4.5% in the merged group, two sources said, in a move that could help make regulatory approval easier. According to the deal approved by PSA's board on Tuesday, FCA's robot unit, Comau, will remain within the combined group rather than be spun off as was originally planned in October, the sources said. The new group will evaluate how to extract value from Comau. Ahead of the meetings, entities representing the Peugeot family, Etablissements Peugeot Freres (EPF) and FFP, unanimously approved a proposed memorandum of understanding for the planned merger, a source familiar with the situation said. FCA and PSA are expected to finalise a deal by the end of 2020 to create a group with 8.7 million annual vehicle sales, a source said. That would put it fourth globally behind Volkswagen AG, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan alliance. It was only six months ago that FCA abandoned merger talks with PSA's French rival Renault. FCA would gain access to PSA's more modern vehicle platforms, helping it meet tough new emissions rules, while Europe-focused PSA would benefit from FCA's profitable U.S. business featuring brands such as Ram and Jeep. However, the deal could still face close regulatory scrutiny, while governments in Rome, Paris and unions are all likely to be wary about potential job losses from a combined workforce of around 400,000. PSA's Carlos Tavares will be chief executive and FCA's John Elkann — the scion of Italy's Agnelli family, which controls FCA through their holding company Exor — chairman of the combined company.