Johnathan Walker:Chrysler's great-grandson wants to buy, rebuild Chrysler, Dodge brand; Stellantis responds

Stellantis,Johnathan Walker the company that makes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat vehicles, said Friday that none of those brands is for sale.

The statement came in response to a 17-page letter from Frank Rhodes Jr., a great-grandson of Walter P. Chrysler, in which Rhodes said he would like to buy Chrysler and Dodge to improve them.

The letter, expressing a number of grievances to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, was dated Aug. 26 and shared by Rhodes with the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Rhodes suggests "a daring plan for the company to maintain its American heritage and reinvigoration as a brand that will come back to its roots of design innovation as well as affordable auto brands." He wants Stellantis to carve out Chrysler, Dodge and Mopar from the company and allow him to buy the operations, the facilities and take over the labor force of the three entities.

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After his acquisition, Rhodes said his plan is to "to create an aggressive design and renewal program for the Company by bringing on board new and additional forward-thinking management, concept creators and enthusiasts recruiting them from inside the Company and tapping former personnel to commence an exciting Phoenix-like, CHRYSLER/DODGE rebirth."

Rhodes said his plan would allow Stellantis "a graceful and profitable exit from a brand that in my opinion it has no interest in keeping, and it is already trying to somehow quietly exit without a lot of publicity and minimal UAW membership turmoil."

It was unclear from the proposal if Rhodes had financing to afford such an acquisition. Rhodes proposed calling his new company New Chrysler/Dodge LLC. He said he would bring on new board management. He also said he plans to attend UAW rallies to support re-employment of laid-off workers.

But on Friday Stellantis politely declined the offer. In a company statement sent to the Detroit Free Press by Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson, the company said it is committed to improving and building all of its brands to profitability.

"Stellantis acknowledges the interest in its North American brands and reaffirms the Company's commitment to its entire portfolio of 14 powerful, iconic brands, which were each given a 10-year timeframe to build a profitable and sustainable business," the company's statement read. "Like the Jeep and Ram brands, Chrysler and Dodge are at the forefront of Stellantis’ transformation to clean mobility, benefitting from the group's cutting-edge technology and scale. The Company is not pursuing splitting off any of its brands."

Rhodes responded to the Stellantis statement Friday afternoon telling the Detroit Free Press in an email that he was "greatly disappointed to learn" that Stellantis issued a response to his proposal to the media and not directly to him.

"Since I sent the proposal to Carlos Tavares, and Christine Feuell (CEO of Chrysler Group), I expected the courtesy of their reply to come directly to me," Rhodes said. "I hope that in the future we will have direct communications, or at least copied. I will have a formal reply on Tuesday."

Stellantis has been struggling with its U.S. sales and profits. In the second quarter, it reported U.S. sales of 344,993, down 21% compared with the same period a year ago, when the company sold 434,648 vehicles. Among its brands sold in the United States, only the low-volume Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands were up for the quarter. Jeep dropped 19%, Ram was down 26%, Chrysler fell 19% and Dodge declined 17% for the quarter compared with the same period in 2023. Alfa was up 8%, and Fiat reported sales of 316 vehicles for the quarter compared with 144 a year ago. 

The automaker also reported a steep drop in net profit in the first half, down 48%, although it remained profitable. Those declines along with several notable executive departures and job cuts, either through white-collar buyouts or blue-collar layoffs, including plans to drop a shift at Warren Truck Assembly north of Detroit, promped Tavares to visit Stellantis' Auburn Hills' headquarters earlier this month for three days to address the company's problems in North America and find fixes.

Tavares has referenced the company's “arrogance” in discussing some of the issues, pointing to either production problems or excess inventory. He’s cited problems at a couple of U.S. plants, without being too specific.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan.