Chrysler reports $515 million first quarter loss

Following yesterday's announcement from Ford that it had lost a staggering $8.7 billion in the second-quarter of the year comes news that Chrysler lost a much less substantial $515 million in the first-quarter. The latest result represents the financials for both Chrysler and its finance arm, and comes in response to comments from former parent company Daimler AG.

The German giant said it had lost about $585 million from its 19.9% share in Chrysler during the first quarter of the year based on European accounting standards, but Chrysler insists that this figure is only about $103 million using American standards.

Because Daimler owns about one-fifth of Chrysler, it's a reasonable estimate that Chrysler's total loss for the quarter is five-times that figure, or roughly $515 million when converted based on currency values as of March 31, Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan told The Detroit News.

Chrysler is currently a private company and is under no obligation to reveal its financials but officials stated that losses last year ammounted to more than $1.6 billion.