Should Dodge really be no longer selling the Sprinter at all?
The DaimlerChrysler marriage is over, but the animosity continues. Late last month, Chrysler sued Daimler for breach of contract, alleging that the German automaker wasn’t living up to its obligations as agreed to with the Old Chrysler business and assumed by the New Chrysler. Additionally, Chrysler charged that Daimler was attempting to extort from Chrysler monies for a diesel engine that Daimler agreed to cancel months earlier. My, what sharp words! Daimler apparently has decided to strike back, discontinuing supplying Chrysler with its Dodge Sprinter vans, its line of commercial vehicles. Introduced through Dodge dealers for 2003, the Sprinter replaced Chrysler’s aging full sized vans a segment that the American automaker will now have to exit due to the Daimler cancellation. The Sprinter Returns To Mercedes Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC announced earlier this week that they would “assume responsibility for the sales, marketing, distribution and service of Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner Sp
As much as Daimler has been hating on Chrysler lately, one would think that the Pentastar was the cold-hearted deviant who stuck a knife into the heart of the German automaker. The “Merger of Equals” turned out to be a bum deal for Chrysler, but at least it was able to procure some hardware from its German ex. Some parts of the LX platform that underpins the Dodge 300C, Charger and Challenger, and the platform that will underpin the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and Durango all came from Mercedes-Benz, as does the excellent Sprinter van. Though the Sprinter has been met with some level of success at select Dodge dealers, Mercedes has decided to pull the plug on Chrysler in 2010. About 350 dealers sell the Sprinter as a Dodge, and the large commercial van has managed sales of about 20,000 per year since it donned the Ram head in 2003. Mercedes is switching to 120 dealers branded Daimler Vans USA. The updated Sprinter van, which will now be branded as a Mercedes, will receive a new
