In an unexpected move, Chrysler has decide to sell its Dodge Viper business as a part of its strategy to focus on a smaller number of core products.
The U.S. based company said that it has been approached by a number of potential buyers for the Viper unit, which analysts claim could be worth up to a potential $100 million. Of these buyers, included are East Asian and Indian automakers that have been seeking to gain instant entrance into global markets by purchasing pre-existing brands. For example, the Indian automaker Tata purchased the Land rover and Jaguar brands from Ford earlier this year.
Perhaps “supercar” builders such as Shelby or Saleen would be potential buyers, however, anaylsts seem to agree that the price tag may be a bit steep for outfits of that size.
Originally, The Viper, which was introduced in 1992, was pegged as a “halo” car. The sole intention was to generate buzz, not big sales. It seems that this buzz is beginning to wear off. While The Viper does have a very loyal following, it seems that the “halo” may be dimming a bit as sales have slowed to a crawl.
Reasoning? David Healy, an analyst at Burnham Securities had this to say…
“I’m not sure how many people go into a Dodge showroom and buy a Caliber after they ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over a Viper. I’m not sure it’s as much of a traffic builder as it might have been when it was new.”
Vipers, which are actually hand built at a plant in Detroit, start with a sticker price around $82,000. Last year’s sales fell 70% to a ridiculous 435 cars having actually been sold. However, sales jumped to 682 this year when Dodge put a new 8.4-liter V-10 under the hood, increasing HP from 510 to 600.
General Motors’ Hummer sport utility vehicle brand is also for sale. All three of the Detroit automakers are losing money as they try to meet shifting consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
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