Chrysler Group

Over the past decade, automotive supplier parks have proliferated in South America and Europe as automakers pursue a manufacturing value chain that is as lean and efficient as possible. That trend has recently aslo gained popularity in North America. Ford Motor Company launched its first North American supplier park in Chicago in 2004, where painted exterior and interior components will be produced. Chrysler is planning a supplier co-location project at the Jeep Toledo North Assembly plant, where painted vehicle body and the chassis module will be sent on conveyer lines directly into the Chrysler Group s final assembly building. 

In fact in Europe, where customers place a higher value on fuel economy, diesels now account for about 40 percent of new vehicle sales. For the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler, the number is closer to 66 percent. If Chrysler had the same diesel penetration in its U.S. fleet as it has in Europe, its CAFE performance would improve by about four miles per gallon. If the entire U.S. light duty fleet had the same diesel penetration as Europe, total U.S. fuel consumption could be reduced by about one million barrels per day, and C02 emissions could be reduced by almost 200 million tons per year. 

One reengineering consultant has said that the existence of walls between the functions is the primary reason for his industry. Indeed, consultants derive much of their revenue from improving communications, integrating information flows, or mediating across these man-made boundaries. Chrysler Group, in a case described in Chapter 21, provides an example of how a large company dealt with what the executive at the time refers to as battleship departments. 

Robert Lutz, at the time of writing a General Motors Vice Chairman, describes the motivation of platform teams at his prior employer, Chrysler Corporation before a merger made it DaimlerChrysler. The formation of these teams is often cited as the centerpiece of a Chrysler, now Chrysler Group, turnaround from a weak to a strong competitive position. 

In the automotive business, platform refers to a family of related products or principal components. These are sold under well-known brand names such as Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge. At Chrysler Group, there are platforms for several product categories, plus one platform oriented to a major component system. Table 16.5 lists the Chrysler Group platforms. 

Section 16.3.2 described how Chrysler Group deployed platform teams in its U.S.-based business. According to then-president Robert Lutz, Chrysler was on the ropes in the late 1980s. Platform teams were a response to high cost, long lead-times for product development, and outmoded products. The platform teams encouraged new lines of communication within the organization. 

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