Chrysler pushing to dramatically cut GEM dealer network
GEM Peapod - Click above for high-res image gallery
Chrysler has made a big deal in the past about its long history selling GEM electric cars, and there are tens of thousands of them on the roads today. Of course, the EVs that Chrysler has been selling since 2000 (when DaimlerChrysler purchased GEM) are all NEVs - expensive, slow electric vehicles that aren't selling well these days. With Chrysler's recent emergence from bankruptcy, the company is still looking to cut losses wherever possible. Letting some GEM dealers go is one option.
Last month, Chrysler axed almost 800 Chrysler dealerships. According to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing, the company now wants to eliminate 64 of 150 low-performing GEM dealers as well. Chrysler attorney Corinne Ball wrote in the filing that Chrysler has "determined that the GEM dealership agreements are neither necessary nor valuable to their estates and should be rejected."
The newest addition to the GEM lineup was to be the Peapod (pictured), but Chrysler announced recently that it would release this car under its own brand name, Peapod Mobility.
Gallery: GEM Peapod
[Source: Detroit Free Press]
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