The guys over at the States love their American Muscle. Featuring large engines that gives them great straight line speed, the muscle car has always been an icon for their auto scene. With that being said, it is very surprising that Chrysler is temporarily idling the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant due to the slow sales of their new SRT Viper.
During the launch of this iconic muscle car, Chrysler was confident that they could sell 2,000 units in 2013. Unfortunately, they had only managed to find customers for 591 units, and only 91 units have been sold in the first two months of 2014. From March 1, SRT had 756 unsold Vipers which represent a 412-day supply.
“Chrysler Group confirms that its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant will be down, beginning the week of April 14. Production will resume the week of June 23. 91 UAW-represented employees will be laid off during this time,” said spokesperson Jodi Tinson to The Detroit News in an email.
However, Chrysler has maintained that the Viper is a specialist product as less than 29,000 units have been sold in the past 20 years.
“The ability to increase and decrease production at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant allows the company to continue to meet our customers’ desire to keep these special cars exclusive,” said Chrysler spokeswoman Dianna Gutierrez.
