Chrysler CEO: Calif Ad Budget to Focus on Hispanic Market ...And I Thought California Was In The US..Fool That I Am

LOS ANGELES January 2, 2003; Pat Maio writing for Dow Jones reports that Chrysler managers in California have a tall order. Dieter Zetsche, the auto maker's chief executive, wants Chrysler's market share in the state to rise to 9.5% by 2004, up from 8% currently, he said Thursday during a luncheon address at the L.A. Auto Show.

To help reach this goal, half of the advertising budget for Chrysler's Los Angeles business center will reach out to the booming Hispanic market, Mr. Zetsche said. Chrysler's California Dealer Association will also boost its budget by one-third this year to help in the effort.

Mr. Zetsche also said he thinks there's interest in diesel-powered engines among California consumers. Diesels get 30% better fuel economy than gasoline engines do, and they emit a smaller amount of pollutants.

Mr. Zetsche, whose company was an original member of an industry consortium formed with the state government to develop a working fuel-cell-powered automobile, said that diesel-powered cars would give an immediate payoff in reducing air pollution.

Fuel-cell cars, which run on hydrogen and would require a multibillion-dollar infrastructure to distribute the fuel, aren't commercially viable yet, he said, though they remain a long-term goal.

Chrysler has already invested $1 billion in research and development in this area, and isn't prepared to let that money go to waste, Mr. Zetsche said.

"The auto industry in California is often at odds on environmental policy," he said. "We need to find common ground."

"It has been a very painful and difficult process" to meet the state's zero- emissions mandate, he added.