Caliber, Compass lift 2007 sales abroad for Chrysler

By Alex Gary | BusinessRockford.com

EDDY MONTVILLE | BUSINESSROCKFORD.COM
Chrysler's Belvidere assembly plant is pictured in August after the company's sale to Cerberus Capital Management.">

EDDY MONTVILLE | BUSINESSROCKFORD.COM

Chrysler's Belvidere assembly plant is pictured in
August after the company's sale to Cerberus
Capital Management.

Chrysler LLC posted record unit sales outside North America in 2007, rising 15 percent over 2006 figures, thanks in large part to the trio of vehicles built at the plant in Belvidere.

Chrysler sold 238,218 vehicles abroad, up from 206,925 in 2006, the private company said Monday. The Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass combined for 53,163 of the sales outside of North America — or 22.3 percent of the sales.

Compared with 2006, international sales of the Caliber, Compass and Patriot increased 151 percent.

“We feel that the international business showed the potential that we have in front of us,” Vice Chairman and President Jim Press told reporters on a conference call.

Still, international sales represented only 9 percent of the company’s business, and it’s a fraction of the international sales of its U.S.-based competitors, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.

Of Belvidere’s contributions internationally, the Caliber led the way with 30,937 sales in units. The Patriot, which didn’t reach international dealers until August, had 6,110 sales. The Compass chipped in with 16,116 sales.

In November, many analysts speculated that Chrysler might discontinue the Compass, which isn’t popular with Jeep purists because of its more rounded look. In the U.S., the Patriot outsold the Compass despite the fact that it didn’t go into production until January.

Still, Chrysler officials pointed to the Compass’ strong sales in Europe as a reason it was sticking with the car. A look at the Compass’ worldwide sales illustrates the point: International sales accounted for nearly 23 percent of the Compass’ sales, 19.6 percent of the Caliber’s and 9 percent of the Patriot’s.

Executives said Chrysler is trying to expand international sales by bolstering its dealer network and through new alliances with automakers across the globe.

Chrysler racked up 599,618 total unit sales outside the U.S., including Canada and Mexico, up 8 percent from 2006. But total sales dropped just less than 1 percent to 2.68 million vehicles, largely because of a 3 percent decline in U.S. sales last year.

German automaker Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler in 1998, then sold a majority stake (80.1 percent) in August 2007 to Cerberus Capital Management LP, a private-equity firm that specializes in restructuring troubled companies.