New launches rise sharply at Chrysler

Chrysler’s president and CEO Dieter Zetsche told a Boston audience the automaker will bring 25 new vehicles to market over the next three years, according to a Reuters report. Nine of those 25 will be launched in 2004.
Later, at a ceremony marking the beginning of production for the Dodge Durango 2004, Zetsche noted that improvements made at the Newark, DE, assembly plant which produces Durango will be incorporated into other plants as the company ramps up for new vehicle production.
Using flexible manufacturing strategies and reusing existing plant equipment, Chrysler was able to reduce initial capital expenditures by 30% on the Durango.
In addition, using a "design for manufacturing" approach, the assembly process has been streamlined, despite the addition of more options on the vehicle. This approach to vehicle development involved plant employees, plant tooling and equipment producers and vehicle parts suppliers.