Chrysler Cutting SRT Viper Production Due to Low Demand

ChryslerChryslerUnited States of America, 1925 > present70 models
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is cutting production of the new SRTSRTUnited States of America, 2010 > present5 models
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ViperSRT ViperUnited States of America, 2013 > present33 photos
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after being on sale since April due to low sales and winter coming for much of the United States.

The SRT Viper is made at Chrysler's Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit, Michigan. Chrysler will not lay off any workers; instead they will be moved to other, local Chrysler factories. Production will not stop completely. It will slow down to six cars per day from nine a day currently.

SRT head Ralph Gilles blames the low sales on the late production start of the Viper. It was first revealed at the New York Motor Show in April 2012 but did not go on sale until April 2013. Gilles says that SRT products tend to start selling well  in the spring when the temperatures start warming, but it was not ready with enough Vipers at the time.

"We got off to a late start. We had hoped to begin shipping vehicles late last year, but we shipped the first 67 units in April. We typically do very well with the Viper in early spring," said Gilles said.

The latest Viper starts at $104,480, after the destination fee, and each car comes with a day on on-track driving instruction. Power comes from an 8.4-liter V10 with 640hp and 600lb-ft of torque.

SRT had hoped to sell 2,000 Vipers this year and had sold 805 through August.

Only specially trained Chrysler dealers can sell SRT products and salesman must go through extra training to sell them.

To boost demand in 2014, SRT will be bringing Vipers to dealers with professional drivers to organize test drives. Many dealers will not let buyers test drive the car because of their expense and lack of trust in potential buyers. Bringing in outside cars that are owned by SRT gets around this problem.

"We really have to focus on putting butts in seats. A lot of people are unnecessarily intimidated by the car,” said Gilles.

Source: Automotive News