Chrysler asks Sterling Heights for more time

Chrysler Group is asking the city of Sterling Heights for another extension of the deadline for the purchase of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. At stake are millions of dollars in tax abatements the company hopes to preserve.

The Sterling Heights City Council is willing to continue the tax breaks but only if Chrysler Group purchases SHAP from Old Carco, the entity created to liquidate assets of the former Chrysler LLC. On January 19, the council voted to give Chrysler an extension to conclude the deal, but that extension expires today.

Chrysler has informed the council that negotiations for the Sterling Heights plant are more complex and taking longer than originally anticipated so it needs more time to complete the purchase. Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson says the company is confident the deal will be concluded soon and Sterling Heights’ mayor, Richard Notte, said he expects the council to approve the extension at tonight’s meeting. Chrysler is the largest taxpayer in Sterling Heights and generates an estimated $500 million in total impact on the community.

The Sterling Heights plant builds the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger. It was slated to be closed at the end of this year and so was left with other unneeded assets when Chrysler Group emerged from bankruptcy in June last year. Revised product planning now calls for the plant to remain open at least through the 2012 model year and possibly longer, depending on new product assignments.

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