Government Mandates Could Bankrupt Chrysler If They Sell Too Many Electrics And The CEO Says So!

Fiat Chrysler CEO: Please Don’t Buy The Electric Car The Government Makes Us Produce

May 22, 2014 by Sam Rolley 

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told an audience at the Brookings Institution that he hopes people don’t buy electric models of the Fiat 500 because government mandates are killing the company’s bottom line.

“If you are considering buying a 500e, I hope you don’t buy it, because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000,” Marchionne said. “I’m honest enough to tell you that.”

Fiat has sold more than 11,000 gas-powered Fiat 500s, which can be bought for less than $17,300, this year.

The electric car, which Fiat produces to answer government demands, has a base price of nearly $33,000 before Federal tax credits available to buyers. At that price, Marchionne believes most Fiat buyers are no longer interested.

“I will sell the [minimum] of what I need to sell and not one more,” Marchionne said.

Fiat doesn’t publicize sales numbers for the electric Fiat.

“If we just build those vehicles, we’ll be back asking … in Washington for a second bailout because we’ll be bankrupt,” Marchionne said, referring to Chrysler’s 2009 government bailout.

This isn’t the first time the CEO has complained about green auto mandates.

Marchionne said of the electric car last year, “We will lose $10,000 per vehicle. Doing that on a large scale would industrial masochism.”