Chrysler CEO expects company to remain private, confident of Cerberus

Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli revealed yesterday that he expects the carmaker to remain in private hands for the next three years at least and was confident in the decisions being made by current owners, Cerberus Capital Management. Under its guidance, Chrysler has adopted a streamlined strategy that has seen its dealer numbers greatly reduced, thousands of jobs shed, and several models either dropped or soon to be cut from its lineup.

Rumors of Chrysler's owners, Cerberus Capital Management, selling off equity in the company to reduce their own risk have been denied on both sides and Nardelli has stated that Cerberus is in no way hesitant about the success of its investment.

The decisions made by Cerberus so far appear to be in the best interest of Chrysler both in the short and long term. Nardelli explained to the Associated Press that Chrysler was rushing to build a more international profile, most of which was lost with its separation from Daimler, especially in emerging markets such as China, Russia, India and Brazil.

Chrysler is yet to announce plans to reduce its truck and SUV production, like GM and Ford, claiming that measures already in place were sufficient to weather the shift in demand for small cars. Analysts, however, predict Chrysler will be the next carmaker to announce extensive changes to its manufacturing operations in North America.