China-made Dodge Caravan halted

The forthcoming production of Dodge Caravan in China is suspended, for the disagreement arising from the separate production and sales. Thus the most-expected minivan may fail to hit the market this Oct. as originally scheduled, according to the corporate announcement.

Dodge Caravan was set to produced by the Southeast Motors and sold by Chrysler (China). Southeast Motors has started pilot production of Caravan since last Dec., and plans to put it into mass production this Aug.. Meanwhile Chrysler, who's to take charge of marketing this Oct., has hastened the preparation of the distribution networks since the Beijing Auto show last Nov..

But all these preparation will come to a halt until quarrels between the two sides end.

Southeast Motors and Chrysler China are at odds as for how to divide the profit. Southeast, who was claimed to collaborate to build the sales network for the Dodge brand in China, didn't take a big role.

Dodge, Chrysler's last brand to be introduced into China, is assembled on a completely built imported unit in the form of knocked down kit. The brand has a history of over ninety years, holds 6% of the American market and sells 1.6 million units worldwide last year. Chrysler eyes to improve its market share in China with several Dodge models like the localized Caravan and  imported Caliber.