Loss of Revenue Producing Partnership is seen as Blow to Mitsubishi

Is the Mitsubishi/DaimlerChrysler feud getting personal? Only a week after Mitsubishi Motor Corp. (MMC) announced that it had finalized a capital procurement of $4.5 billion for its revitalization efforts, Chrysler Group drops another bomb by stating it will soon stop production at MMCs Normal, Illinois production facility.

Chrysler Group spokesman Jason Vines was quoted in The Detroit News saying that a decision to end production at MMCs Normal plant prior to DCX making a decision to pull support from Mitsubishis refinancing negotiations.

Vines didnt give a reason for the

Just as things were looking up for Mitsubishi, DaimlerChrysler dropped another bomb by announcing it would stop Chrysler Sebring coupe (shown) and Dodge Stratus coupe production at the Japanese brands Normal, Illinois plant. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler)

It is quite possible Chrysler

To be fair to DaimlerChrysler, the Dodge Stratus (shown) and Chrysler Sebring coupes, the only DCX cars produced at the Normal plant, may not be part of the automakers lineup when the current Sebring/Stratus sedans and convertibles are redesigned. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler)

With the recent announcement, water cooler gossip surrounds the next generation Sebring/Stratus, both of which until recently were expected to be based on current Mitsubishi Galant chassis architecture. If this unsubstantiated rumor was correct, it would have made building

No doubt the lack of DaimlerChrysler revenue at the Normal, Illinois plant will make it more difficult for Mitsubishi to make its operations profitable. The redesigned Sebring sedan was expected to share Galant (shown) architecture. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

While MMC was already planning to cut production at the Normal, Illinois plant as part of its restructuring plan, the Chrysler Group business would have been revenue producing, in sharp contrast to overproducing Mitsubishi cars in an economic downturn, and not being able to recoup the production costs, at least initially. For this reason the DCX action is another blow to Mitsubishi.

There are some analysts,

Is DaimlerChrysler attempting to put a "stranglehold" on Mitsubishi due to prior bad blood? Thats hard to say, but either way the next generation Sebring sedan (2003 model shown) will continue to be manufactured at one of DXCs plants. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, American Auto Press)

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