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June 25, 2003
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This Week:

• Volkswagen Launches First-Ever SUV 

• Cornerstone laid for PSA Peugeot Citroën plant in Trnava, Slovakia

• Chrysler Group Is Most-Improved Automaker in The Harbour Report 2003

• BMW 3 Series Production Halted Due To Strike of German Metal Union

• Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover Appoint Imagination as Global Design Agency

• Renault opens the new premises of its satellite centre, Renault Design Paris

• Oasis Breaks National Hybrid Synergy Drive Campaign For Toyota

• New GM-Saab Technology Knows When Drivers Are Too Busy To Receive Certain Information

• New contracts for Volkswagen Group brands' dealer organisations

• PAX wheels now available for the Audi A6 as well

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Chrysler Group Is Most-Improved Automaker in The Harbour Report 2003
 

8.3 percent improvement is best-ever in Chrysler Group's history; second-best gain for any manufacturer since inception of The Harbour Report . Every plant improved year-over-year; Kokomo Transmission Plant is benchmark in FWD transmission productivity Auburn Hills, Mich., -Chrysler Group achieved a significant milestone by improving its overall manufacturing efficiency by 8.3 percent in 2002 compared to 2001, according to The Harbour Report North America 2003. The results are the best year-over-year improvement in the company's history and the second best of any auto manufacturer since The Harbour Report's inception in 1981.

"It is rare to see an automaker improve in one year as much as the Chrysler Group did in The Harbour Report," said Ron Harbour, President of Harbour and Associates, Inc. "The breadth of their improvement shows the consistency of their approach, and that they have the foundation for greater achievements down the road."

The Chrysler Group has been committed to becoming more efficient, in order to increase its competitiveness. As a result, every one of the company's plants in North America (assembly, engine, transmission and stamping) posted a gain in manufacturing efficiency in 2002.

"These broad-based achievements underscore the consistency of the company's manufacturing strategy," stated Tom LaSorda, Executive Vice President of Manufacturing for Chrysler Group. "We've set high standards and we intend to live up to them. This is a long journey, but you don't get to be a leader in productivity without setting objectives and making steady progress toward them. This is a solid step in the right direction."

LaSorda credits efficiencies across all of the Chrysler Group plants, in the areas of quality, throughput and productivity, as the key reasons why the company had such a significant overall improvement in this year's Harbour Report. Future efforts will continue in these areas, along with a renewed focus on engineering hours per vehicle and common parts sharing.

The results represent the employees' hard work throughout the plants, the support from the United Auto Workers and other local unions, as well as the work of the support teams who are responsible for helping to achieve the company's productivity goals.

Chrysler Group led The Harbour Report's year-over-year improvement in assembly operations, with a gain of nine percent in efficiency. The St. Louis (Missouri) North Assembly Plant was the most-improved plant in the report. The plant, home of the Dodge Ram pickup trucks, improved by 28.6 percent. This was accomplished during the launch of the Dodge Ram heavy duty pickup trucks, a phase when manufacturing efficiencies are usually difficult to achieve. Also, the Belvidere (Illinois) Assembly Plant moved up in the report's "Subcompact Vehicle" segment, to become the number three performer. Belvidere builds the Dodge Neon.

Chrysler Group achieved an 8.4 percent improvement at its engine operations and a 3.7 percent gain in transmission efficiency. The Kokomo (Indiana) Transmission Plant led the "Front Wheel Drive Transmission" segment to become the benchmark plant in this year's report, with a 3.6 percent improvement.

Overall Chrysler Group stamping operations improved by nine percent in pieces per labor hour and by 21 percent in number of pieces per line, the largest increase ever for the company's stamping plants. Investments in higher volume and higher line-speed presses contributed to the improvements.

While the results are the best in the Chrysler Group's history, the company is still determined to raise its overall ranking versus the competition in future reports. It will focus on improving throughput - the measure of how quickly a vehicle or part can be produced - and continue to evolve its product development strategy, aligning design, engineering and procurement with manufacturing.

The Harbour Report is one of several efficiency measures the Chrysler Group uses to help improve its operations. Harbour measures hours per vehicle (number of hours worked/number of vehicles produced). Other areas that are tracked include quality, safety, cost and delivery improvements, all of which contribute to manufacturing performance.

(June 18, 2003)