Chrysler Takes Back Aid Request, Claims it was made ‘Political Football’

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Chrysler Group LLC has announced to have withdrawn its request for funding from the federal and Ontario governments as it claims that it will begin making new investments for a new minivan assembly line at its Windsor, Ont. factory. The auto manufacturer have previously requested the governments to provide some $700-million in public funds to expand its operations in the province, especially at a minivan plant in Windsor. Chrysler had vowed to sink $3.6-billion into Windsor and Brampton, Ont.

According to the official statement issued by the company, it mentioned that “it is clear to us that our projects were being used as a political football, a process that, in our view apart from being unnecessary and ill-advised, will ultimately not benefit Chrysler.” CEO of Chrysler Group LLC., Sergio Marchionne, stated that “our commitment to Canada remains strong,” and that “Chrysler has also confirmed its intention to begin to allocate to our Windsor, Ontario plant the development and industrialization of the next “people carrier” architecture (the so-called next minivan and derivatives.” He straightforwardly warned that the company reserves the right to “reassess our position as conditions change.”

Additionally, Mr. Marchionne did mention that “on a personal note, as a Canadian,” “I regret my failure in having been unable to convey the highly competitive nature of markets that offer manufacturing opportunities to carmakers that operate on a global scale.” It was added that “some of the shots across the bow following our initial approaches to the federal and provincial governments reveal, apart from political convenience, a somewhat restricted view of Canada as an industrial player in what has become a borderless economy.  It is clear that we, at Chrysler, need to do more to explain ourselves and our choices going forward.”