Chrysler Nixes Canadian Funding Request, Intends to Build New Minivans in Windsor

Stephen Elmer
by Stephen Elmer

Chrysler has withdrawn a request from the Canadian government that was seeking financial assistance for updating assembly plants in Windsor and Brampton, On.

In a statement, the company says that its projects were being used “as a political football,” which is not to the benefit of Chrysler. Because of this, Chrysler will invest its own money into each of its Canadian operations.

Continuing, Chrysler says it has intentions to build the next generation of minivan in the Windsor plant. The fate of this plant has been up in the air for sometime, and now it seems as though Chrysler has finally made a concrete decision. Or have they?

The brand was also careful to leave themselves an out, just in case the project proves to be too expensive. “We will do what we can to preserve and nurture the competitiveness of our operations, but we reserve the right, as is true for all global manufacturers, to reassess our position as conditions change,” said Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne.

That leaves the brand the option to jump ship if they conclude that Windsor, Ontario is too expensive a place to produce the new vans.

Stephen Elmer
Stephen Elmer

Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>

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